《The villainess shall be mine》


 Chapter 1 A Pathetic Man And His Second Chance

    Before everything took a weird turn, I was still inside my messy and disorganized apartment.


    Just by seeing the sock on top of the tv or those shirts drenched with juice on the table, someone could tell that the room wasn''t cleaned for a while and it was full of trash.


    I didn''t even want to think about the state of the kitchen and the sink with all of these unwashed dishes in there.


    The only ce where I felt rxed was on top of my surprisingly soft bed but during thest few weeks, I noticed that I sighed a lot and felt that something was weighing on my mind so I didn''t even feel refreshed when I woke in the morning.


    Unwanted thoughts crossed my mind so I let out a groan that exhibited my disheartenment whileying down on my bed. ''This is hopeless!''


    It was already midnight but I couldn''t close my eyes at all as my inner voices began to remind me about certain things that I did wrong, and I always ended up thinking about how I should have handled these issues in different scenarios.


    But in the end, the past couldn''t be changed and I was left with feelings of regrets that I couldn''t shake off.


    I felt a void in my heart that I couldn''t fill no matter how hard I tried. My head was full of disturbance the whole day and I was dancing and singing alone inside my room almost as if I tried to behave like a normal person during a birthday party.


    However, when I was tired of singing and dancing, and everything, things from my past began toe back to my mind again.


    I didn''t even know where to begin, but just the fact that on that day I turned 30 years old made me feel hopeless.


    And if I were to talk about what made me feel this way, people willugh for sure since I had a stable job and earned a fair amount of money. Besides, I was not bragging about it but I believed that I was quite intelligent in some areas and I didn''t have any issues with my family or with my health.


    But despite all of that, there were facts that I needed to consider as I was getting older.


    Why was I still single? Why was I reading webnovels alone inside of my apartment on weekends? Why were my friends all married but I never had a single girlfriend?


    The answer was simply because the only problemy within my ugly face.


    "Yeah, you are a good guy." That one particr girl answered when I told her directly and seriously my feelings for her. I couldn''t forget her face as she looked at me indifferently and spoke to me with that indifferent tone. There was no ounce of romantic emotions in there.


    "As a friend, I am fond of you too," she added.


    It was at that moment and because of that sentence that my life changed as I did everything I could to prove that I was more than that but that woman''s opinion of me didn''t change in the slightest.


    I believed that I didn''t have anymunication problems, and probably, I had some considerable good traits too.


    ''So the problem must have been my face because if not, how could I be inferior to the other men that courted her?'' I thought.


    Nevertheless, I often hear that some people would love the soul of their partners rather than their physical appearance when they are genuinely in love.


    As a matter of a fact, I even witnessed such a pure form of love in my life at some point and I also waited for such a situation to ur, for such a woman to appear but before I know it, I turned 30 and never had a rtionship with anyone.


    I couldn''t help but me myself for being so naive, knowing that my crushes treated simply me as someone that they could rely on and never one step beyond that.


    Maybe, I was just being a defeatist but after  I was rejected in the most casual way possible and treated as a mere friend fifty-two out of Fifty-two, I began to rethink my life goals.


    stic surgery was also an option, but I couldn''t bring myself to decide between my pride and my romantic life.


    ''Is there any meaning to it if you seed after the surgery?''


    I felt like my face was a part of my identity and if I discarded it, I wouldn''t be able to be satisfied with the oue even if I seed but to be honest, I already felt that maybe the problem was something different.


    After all, I was doing well in every other aspect of my life and I got a promising job when I turned 23.


    After that, some women tried to hook up with me but I didn''t have any intention to get tricked into marrying someone who wasn''t even trying to hide their true intentions.


    It seemed like


    some people treated me as if I was a stupid chimpanzee who would go for any female who came near me just because I had this face, and seriously, it was disheartening and I got sick of it.


    Did they think that I was that cheap?


    The ideal woman for me was a person that I conquered with my efforts and prideful but honest; indifferent to others but caring and loving towards the one she likes; beautiful and a little bit clumsy at times but serious and dependable when the need arises.


    "Okay, I admit it. Maybe,  I was asking for too much." I couldn''t help but say these words out loud with aplicated look on my face as the thoughts rted to my ideal type of woman crossed my mind.


    However, I didn''t want to believe that I was asking too much up to this point.


    I thought that it was just because I was not patient enough and one day I would be able to make a girl like that fall for me but it didn''t happen.


    I ended up spending my free time ying games or engrossing myself in my hobbies and then performing my work dutifully the rest of the week.


    I couldn''t help but wonder. "What the hell was I doing until now?"


    People had concrete goals in their lives. For example, they build a family or achieve a sessful career by pursuing their passions.


    However, what about me? What did I want to achieve?


    ''Self-satisfaction.''


    I was stuck in time due to something that sounded so trivial. I never moved forward after the first time I was rejected by that particr person.


    I wanted to prove that she was wrong and that even someone like me can make someone as beautiful and perfect as her fall genuinely for me if I tried.


    I even forgot what the feeling of love was as it became vague because it has been a long time since Ist felt loved.


    At some point, I was obsessed with that feeling of wanting to be approved and wanted to have someone, and not just anyone, but my ideal woman to approve that even I was worth her love.


    After all, people tend to yearn for the things that they can''t have and I was the same.


    My goal in life looked so petty ifpared to the talented people that had the same age as me. ''But you still can''t do it.''


    I felt pathetic as I looked at the white ceiling of my spacious and cozy apartment.<sub> </sub>


    "Hahaha... You are wrong, Mark! You are just a fuc*ing coward who is constantly afraid of getting hurt after that first rejection. You are afraid that girls will reject you because of your face but you don''t want to change yourself so you made up some excuses like these nonsensical criteria to hide your sorry self behind what you call your pride..."


    I didn''t know how my face looked when I said these words but it was certainly not the face of a person satisfied with their life.


    I knew what my true problem was but I became so skeptical and a coward that as soon as I realized that a girl treated me as a friend, I immediately decided by myself that she wasn''t the one.


    ''Just thinking about yourself.''


    It was truly pathetic and somehow pitiful and added to that, I was also extremely unlucky.


    People will certainlyugh if they knew the reason why I tried so hard to be good at everything.


    It was more like a curse than anything else.


    "Hahaha... Pull yourself together Mark! For my own sake, I need to ovee my weaknesses," I murmured, covering my face with my hand and a faint desperate smile on my face.


    My petty pride wouldn''t let me give up my dream but it was also the reason that motivated me to be a better version of myself, at least that was what I hoped.


    But thirty years had passed and I still couldn''t ovee this weakness but I knew that I had to do it sooner orter.


    "If only I could start anew... if only I got reincarnated with a different face," I said quietly as if it was a wish from the deepest part of my heart, "maybe, I will get a new identity that I can be more confident about," I added.


    A thought popped inside my head, suggested by these voices. ''If everyone had that kind of second chance then people wouldn''t opt for suicide.''


    "Shut up! Shut up!" I said, suppressing the other voices inside my head who were bugging me for a while now, trying to make me depressed.


    I had other qualities that other people wished to have so maybe I was being selfish.


    ''What a difficult person I am. Sometimes, I am even confused about my feelings.''


    I was the type of person that only think about what would make my life easier and morefortable but unfortunately, I was also arrogant and prideful because I seemed to do better than the others in everything that I put my mind to and for sure, that was the reason why I was so shocked when I realized that there was one thing that I couldn''t do. One thing that normal people were able to do: ''Conquer a girl''s heart.''


    That day the shock of being rejected made mee back to the reality which I felt like I wasn''t part of before, and I wanted to ovee this challenge with my abilities but the reality wasn''t kind to someone as arrogant and petty as I was.


    I was even skeptical of the intention of the girls that approached me and maybe, I was partly at fault if I missed some opportunities.


    Even so, pursuing this goal all of these years... I... I didn''t regret that.


    It was only meaningful because it was something I couldn''t do, or so I told myself constantly...


    After thinking about all of these worries that weighed on my mind, I felt tired and I closed my eyes.


    *****


    When I was conscious again, I couldn''t help but feel something different about my whole body.


    ''Huh? It feels weird. I fall asleep inside my room, right? I also turned 30 but now, why do I feel like I am so tiny and naked?'' I thought and I tried to open my eyes but I could only see vague shadows surrounding my field of view.


    Then, I sensed something that felt like a piece of clothing being wrapped gently around my body and hands holding me carefully.


    I tried to scream but all I could hear was something simr to a crying voice of a baby. ''What the hell is this?'' I couldn''t help but doubt my mind and my senses.


    ''Am I dreaming?'' I asked myself because it felt so real even for a dream.


    Then, I tried to open my eyes again and to my surprise, the first thing that I saw wasn''t the familiar white ceiling of my apartment and I also didn''t see anything that made me recognize the room that I was currently in as my old apartment, making me more confused by the situation. ''Where am I? Seriously what''s going on?''


    I looked up and saw the face of a woman her eyes which were full of love were locked on me and a sweet smile appeared on her face.


    My mind overflowed with questions. ''Is this what they call lucid dream? But why would I dream about the moment of my birth? And did my mother look like this? This woman is extremely beautiful.'' I thought, looking at the woman who had smooth ck hair and crimson red eyes.


    "Bizoubizoubizou¡­ Look at daddy." Suddenly, the face of a middle-aged man appeared in my field of vision.


    The man had dark blue eyes, brown hair, and a beard that was entuated with silver color and he was grabbing cheeks and stretching them up and down with his hand as he looked at me. He had such a face, making him look like a frog with a beard.


    I somehow understood why he had this reaction in front of a baby because I did something like that too sometimes but looking at this man''s stupid face, I became embarrassed and more confused.


    He couldn''t contain his excitement and spoke loudly as if he wanted some confirmation from the woman that held me. "Did you see that? He smiled. So cute!"


    "Dear, don''t speak so loudly, you will scare him." The woman that held me spoke, and her voice was sweet and soothing.


    The man scratched the back of his head and let out an idioticugh. "Sorry, sorry¡­ Hehehe."


    After calming down a little, he stood up and watched us with gentle eyes, and at that moment, he looked noble and full of grace, unlike his behavior earlier.


    ''Who is this guy?'' I couldn''t help but be curious about the identity of these two people because as far as I remembered, my parents didn''t look like them.


    ''What kind of dream is this?'' I felt a little ufortable with the atmosphere inside of the room because I was something of a middle-aged man myself.


    After a while, I thought that I would wake up.


    However,  one minute¡­


    Two minutes¡­


    Five minutes¡­


    Ten minutes had passed and I still didn''t wake up. Well, technically I woke up but not in the way I usually did.


    ''What''s going on? Did I get reincarnated or what?''

 Chapter 2 A New World, And A New Beginning?

    I was extremely confused by what was happening but no matter how much I pondered about it, such a long and vivid dream was bizarre even for someone in aatose state.


    It is unlikely for a dream to be this realistic because the dialogues between my new parents and the people around me were meaningful and clear.


    ''All of this can''t be something that I created using my imagination, right?'' I thought as observed the people around me.


    Most of the time, they talked about things that I didn''t know and used anguage that I never heard before but curiously, I understood what they were saying as if I used thisnguage my whole life.


    Consequently, the only logical exnation for what was happening was because consciousness or maybe my soul transcended the realms of my world and reincarnated into a new body.


    I didn''t know how such a thing was possible and I didn''t know what happened to my other body but because of my hobbies, I was familiar with this kind of situation.


    ''I read hundreds of webnovels and webtoons that had plots rted to reaction but I never imagined that it would happen even though I thought that those stories were cool...'' I thought, trying toe up with a logical exnation for what was happening to me.


    I didn''t panic and even had a positive impression of the situation, understanding that this was a chance surely because of that. ''I may be able to restart my life and probably with a slightly better-looking face,'' I thought, ''so I will take advantage of this miracle rather than feel scared. I feel like the now or never line applies to this situation.''


    It felt a little a bit childish as I talked to myself that way, feeling like I was some kind of character in a fantasy book but I couldn''t help it.


    ''And I may even find a nice girl in this world,'' I thought, knowing that these protagonists depicted in these popr stories that I read always aimed to be at the top of the food chain, to create a harem, be overpowered, and use their strength to impress thousands of women.


    Compared to them, I felt like Icked ambition and my goal seemed like a side quest but for me, what I was trying to achieve appeared to be harder than conquering the whole world.


    ''Well, maybe it''s not that hard but I still think that I need to be more creative in my approach this time.''


    Still, gathering information about this world was the first thing that I needed to do, and even though I was still three years old, I could understand all of the conversations around me because on the inside I was an adult.


    I tried to process everything that I saw and heard but I didn''t rush anything even if I made some findings.


    ''Putting my former life aside, I can tell that I am not on Earth anymore, but I could redo my life so I am fine with it,'' I concluded, and from the pieces of information that I put together, I knew that my new name was Adam Von Kepalta and I was the son of Julius Von Kepalta and Marie Vyh Kepalta.


    Julius, my father, was a level 5 Lord and had a whole under his jurisdiction. He was a middle-aged man with a handsome face and distinct aura. He seemed to be well-liked by the people around him and was described as a wise ruler that brought prosperity to his territory which was, I needed to emphasize this, a whole.


    As for my mother, she was a very beautiful woman and had this aura of gracefulness and intelligence about her. She was very calm as a person and her voice was very soothing but she was also strict with her husband and was never afraid to voice her opinion or give appropriate advice when needed. In summary, she was a good wife and a caring mother.


    During the few years after my reincarnation, I couldn''t even move my body as I wanted to and even though it was embarrassing, my mother took care of all of my needs even though I was a 30-year-old man on the inside.


    In the end, I just decided to not think about shame and pride at all because it was inevitable either way, forcing my mind to focus on different things.


    Nheless, I was only a baby so I couldn''t move around so all I could do was acquire knowledge passively. In other words, listening to the conversations of the people around me, filter the essential ones, and linking them together.


    Apart from that, I ate a lot, slept a lot, and sometimes, I felt like my ability to think was slightly restricted.


    *****


    For a while, I spent most of the time thinking about what happened to me and about the things that I wanted to aplish with this second chance, but I also learned this world''snguage, the universalmonnguage, and the few poprnguages that were used frequently.


    Furthermore, I got used to my new body as I grew up, and when I had the body of a five years old boy, it was easier to move around.


    ''I don''t look like my previous self at all though,'' I thought, looking at my face in the mirror then existed the room where my mother was busy with other things and strolled across the hallway of the huge castle.


    The castle, which was the most important building on the and also my new residence, had a huge library. There were countless written pieces inside of it, and as soon as I could move around, I began to search for more information by reading books and archives there.


    Aftering there every day during thest 2 years, I learned about the historical, political, and social aspects of this world little by little.


    The people around me were surprised by this and thought that I was born a genius.


    They weren''t wrong in a way, but even so, I was 30 on the inside and my mind was more mature than the typical 5-year-old child, therefore, I decided to pay no mind to my father''s bragging about how exceptional I was to the people around him and even to the envoy from differents.<sub> </sub>


    Time passed by and I continued my information gathering.


    I was amazed by my ability to process information because it felt so easy, and at some point, I only vaguely remembered how I gathered so much knowledge already, but it was a good thing since I didn''t have to remember the tiring part.


    ''Is this some kind of supernatural ability?'' I thought.


    As I read, I was astonished by what I discovered. The immensity of this world amazed me, along with the fact that manys were popted by intelligent species, which were mostly humans, but there were thousands of different non-human species or mixed races too.


    A considerable number of theses were affiliated with the Holy Empire, the most powerful and influential organization in this world, which was closely connected to the Holy Church.


    This was the very reason why I got confused with the era that I got reincarnated into at first because in this world, not all civilizations were advanced and even if they had spaceships, it was only because the Empire sold this advanced technology to them or helped them to build these ships.


    Because of that, most of thes that were newly acknowledged by the Empire were permitted to ess advanced technology and to build spaceships or buy them, so even if their civilization was simr to medieval times on Earth, the technology was more developed.


    ''So this is the advantage of being able tomunicate with other people in the vast universe.'' I thought, realizing how valuable the information from the books was for a foreigner like me.


    "Thousands of years had passed since that day when monsters first appeared, and the world changed dramatically," I said, reading one line out loud as I sat on afortable chair inside of the library with a history book in my hand.


    Some eyes were fixated on me because this ce was open to anyone as long they obtain authorization but I didn''t have time to pay attention to these people so I continued to read.


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    The totality of thend covered by the Royal Castle was equivalent to a whole city and the castle itself consisted of a few buildings which were majestic and connected.


    This castle was the most important ce in the capital and was named after Julius'' family name Kepalta like the whole capital and the continent.


    One of the buildings connected to the castle was the royal library of Kepalta and this enormous structure had millions of books and archives conserved within it.


    The books and archives were disyed on huge bookshelves made of rare and durable wood that were neatly organized circrly but had enough spaces between them to move around easily. They were also categorized by name and date to make it easier for people to browse through the thousands of bookshelf.


    At the center of the ce, there was a rtively spacious space dedicated to reading, andfortable chairs and tables were ced throughout this area so that people could read the book that they couldn''t bring home.


    On a certain day, people who were present in this area began to chatter among themselves, looking at a five-year-old boy holding a thick book and sitting on a chair.


    The boy had smooth ck hair and was dressed elegantly and his ck eyes seemed to glow reddish as his full attention was focused on the book.


    "Is that the young Lord?" Someone whispered to the person next to him.


    "Yeah, he is here again today."


    "He is only five years old, isn''t he? But he reads almost a few hundred books every day, looking like he is some kind of schr. Honestly, even I can''t do that."


    "Of course, you can''t. I heard that the young lord is a genius and his highness is so proud of him. You need to see him boasting about the young lord to everyone he meets."


    "Well, maybe the young lord will get the chance to attend the Holy Academy."


    "Yes, that will be a great honor for us and he will surely manage to advance in rank when he takes other his highness'' role."


    "Hehehe, I can''t help but look forward to the future of our."


    "I agree with you."


    Indifferent to all this chatter, Adam continued to be engrossed in his reading while people continued to look at him in awe.

 Chapter 3 Gift

    One of the most beautiful ces that were connected to the Royal castle of Kepalta was the Royal garden.


    It was a structure made of ss and a pleasant smell filled its interior because of the existence of exotic nts that looked majestic and beautiful inside it.


    In the middle of this paradisiac garden, there was a luxurious white table along with beautiful chairs, and on top of the table, there was a tea set presented along with appetizing-looking sweets.


    Julius Von Kepalta, the Lord, and Marie Vyh Kepalta his wife sat on the chairs, spending some time alone as husband and wife because once in a while, Julis would take a full day off to spend time with his wife even if he was a busy man.


    "I am a bit worried about our son," Marie spoke, with an apparent concern on her beautiful face. "He is certainly a brilliant child but he doesn''t seem to be aware of the world around him most of the time. He is so engrossed in his learning and rarelymunicates with other people of his age. What do you think we should do? At this rate, he might be disassociated from the rest of the world."


    "I understand your feelings. He is certainly different from the other children but that''s what makes him unique. You must take into ount that he is just a 6-year-old child so he is curious about many things but we don''t need to force him to change, we just have to guide him." Julius answered with a graceful voice and held his wife''s white and delicate hand gently. "He is intelligent so he will understand things little by little as he grows up and discovers the world by himself. Moreover, acquiring knowledge is never a waste of time so let''s watch over his progress and guide him."


    Marie looked at Julius in the eyes and her concerns began to dissipate little by little. "You are right but I think we need to talk to him more and offer him the opportunity to talk to new people," she said, then she continued with a bright smile on her face. "I know, why don''t we organize a pic and invite the other Lords and their children? These children are kind and talented so Adam will get along with them."


    Julius also became enthusiastic after listening to Marie''s suggestion. "That''s a great idea! Now that Adam is older, it''s time to introduce him officially to the world," he said excitedly.


    Even though the under the jurisdiction of the Kepalta family was located far from the empire and Julius was only a level 5 Lord, he had a good rtionship with the other nobles.


    This kind of rtionship was one of the things that Julius managed to build during the first few years when he became the Lord of Kepalta and helped him to bring prosperity to his territory.


    Julius was intelligent and he took advantage of the natural resources of his to build connections based on profits with the rest of the universe but then he used these profits for the sake of the poption and the advancement of technology.


    As time went by, his ingenious ideas and hard work earned him the respect of the poption and the other Lords, earning him a promotion in rank because the Empire seemed to have recognized his ability and at some point, these connections that were only based on profit became a form of friendship.


    Unfortunately, his wife Marie had difficulty getting pregnant and he was getting old, so he was always worried about his legacy. That was why the birth of Adam his son was such a blessing for him and the poption under his jurisdiction.


    Moreover, his son turned out to be a genius and he was so proud of him.


    Still, Adam rarely spoke to him and his wife and appeared to be more like an adult than a sweet child that just turned 6 years old. He was worried about his son too but he didn''t want to cause unnecessary concern for his good-natured and sensitive wife.


    "Well, let''s discuss thatter this evening," Julius added.


    He never imagined that his son reserved more surprise.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    On a peaceful evening, my family was gatheredaround a dining table.


    My mother sat across from me while my father sat at one end of the table on my right.


    We were chatting happily and the atmosphere inside the dining room was quite rxed as we talked about going for a pic with other Lords and their children which was quite interesting if I wanted to gather more information.


    But on that day, I had something more important to tell them and what I was about to say would probably stun both of my parents.


    I took a spoonful from my delicious-looking soup and spoke a few words. "Father, I have awakened my gift," I said casually.


    As soon as my father heard these words, he had different kinds of reactions showing on his face. Mouth agape and with aical face, his eyes were looking at me as if he was looking at a newly discovered species.


    My mother seemed calm as ever but she dropped her spoon for a second then gracefully picked it up as if nothing happened.


    <o>,m My father shuttered a little and asked for confirmation as if he couldn''t believe his ears. "R-really?"</o>


    Their surprise was justified since I just turned 6 years old and suddenly I said that awakened my gift as if it was a normal urrence because normally, people only awakened their power at the age of 12 and the few talented ones at 9 or 10.


    My father was the most surprised since he was a high-level gift holder himself.


    My mother, on the other hand, stayed silent and looked at me with puzzled eyes.


    After all, the fact that I awakened my power made me the youngest person in this universe to possess a gift.


    From what I could read in the universal encyclopedia of this world: A ''Gift'' was a metaphysical power that let the holder alter certain aspects of the naturalws in their surrounding.


    It was the only good thing about the unknown phenomenon that urred in ancient times and with it, humans managed to avoid the worst oue. This was because the holder of the gift could control the ''primordial particles'' and use elemental-rted abilities that were not part of the naturalw of this world. Consequently, it had the potential to distort reality and could even bring some significant changes to the world.


    ording to the book, gifts were given to humans by God to save them from their demise. That was why it was called the gift and the holder needed to refine it topletely make this supernatural power their possession and a part of them.


    That way, they would be able to freely control their gift and also control reality at a significant level, evolving the "Gift" into an "Authority".<sub> </sub>


    The level of mastery of a gift was ranked from 1 to 10. This rank also reflected the power of the holder and in a way one of the criteria that determined a person''s value in this world where monsters could appear at any time.


    Level 1 referred to a person that had just awakened their gift and from levels 2 to 3, the individual could use the power bestowed to them more efficiently.


    After that, the holder must achieve a certain level of mastery and the gift should have be an extension of their own body, increasing its destructive power or some other aptitudes significantly to reach a point of convergence between the gift, the body, the soul and the mind. It was only after this process that the person could move up in rank and reach levels 4 up to 7.


    Lastly, Level 8 to 10 gift holders were the most powerful beings in this world and their power affected the natural order of the world so they could cause great destruction. Most of them were influential figures in the Empire.


    Beyond level 10 were those who possessed the "Authority". These people were considered divinities and a world apart from a mere high-ranked gift holder.


    Regardless, a person''s potential to be powerful depended on their luck, talent, and the number of primordial particles that they could control in their surroundings and inside their body.


    But not all people could manifest the power of gifts and these people are called giftless. My mother, for example, was a giftless person.


    After his shock subdued, my father began to get excited and he spoke loudly, different from his usualposed self. Even the maids and attendants inside the castle were surprised by this change of tone. "Son, that''s great news! I knew that you are exceptional but this is beyond my expectations," he cried. "So what kind of gift did you manifest? You already learned about that right."


    Not pleased by my father''s behavior, my mother scolded him. "Dear, tone down a little. You are talking too loudly," she said.


    My father quickly calmed down a bit after seeing my mother''s smile.


    But as my father insinuated, there were two types of gifts: ''Elemental gifts'' and ''Particr gifts.''


    There was also a book that exined the types of gifts along with other information rted to their mastvery inside the library and from what I could determine after reading it, my gift was a particr type and I didn''t even know the extent of the things that I could do with it yet at that point but at least, I didn''t end up with a weird condition where I had to find a legendary sword to obtain a gift.


    I wasn''t enthusiastic about it as my father was but I knew that I had to master this power and take full advantage of it if I wanted to be sessful in this second life.


    ''Particr gifts'' were rare ifpared to elemental gifts and most of the time, they were useless because of their randomness but those who possessed extraordinary particr gifts were said to be able to even control time. However, since they were rare and most of the time unique, those who possessed a particr gift often had a hard time mastering it and could not ask for experienced masters for help so they couldn''t bring out their full potential. Also, most of them didn''t have enough knowledge or imagination orcked talent and imagination.


    Despite all of that, most of those who were at the top of this universe was the holder of a powerful and particr gift.


    Elemental gifts, on the other hand, were moremon and were easy to master since people could find masters that could teach them how to train more efficiently and increase their mastery of the gift.


    This type of gift gave the user the ability to manipte the primordial elements or elements derived from them which were fire, water, wind, lightning, darkness, and light.


    The power of elemental gifts was by no means inferior to the most extraordinary particr gifts but what a person could achieve with a gift depended heavily on themselves.


    As for my power, I still couldn''t understand its true nature. It was certainly a particr gift but all I could do was neutralize some aspects of the natural phenomenon that appeared within a radius of three meters around me. ''Well, phenomena rted to the power of gifts, monsters, and artifacts are considered natural phenomena in this world.'' I thought, realizing that my power would be very useful if I could take advantage of it.


    I theorized that it was simr to an imprable force field and I needed a certain level of concentration to activate it. After all, it was a power that could rewrite thew of nature, giving me the ability to nullify all kic energy within this force field.


    ''For example, If it is a burning me then it will return to its neutral state and be simple neutral atoms. As for a flying rock, then it will lose its momentum and return to a simple unmoving rock.'' I theorized but I still needed to test my power under various conditions.


    In other words, if it was active or followed this world''sw of nature then I could neutralize it and bring it to a neutral or inactive state of existence.


    Nevertheless, I remarked that this power didn''t return things to their initial state, for example, it didn''t turn a rock into atoms but rather canceled its movement. ''Or is it because I used a mana stone?'' I thought.


    Still, this would mean that I was more or less immune to all kinds of attacks, or so it seemed, but there were some issues and loopholes.


    First, it didn''t activate automatically or permanently. Second, if the attack was too fast then it would hit me because the area covered by this force field was rtively small and my power needed some time to be fully activated. Also, the speed of neutralization needed to be taken into ount so even if I activated my power, the attack would hit me before I noticed it.


    This means that I needed to find a way to expand the limit of the area covered by my force field and also look for a method to hasten the process of neutralization.


    Furthermore, I felt like my ability was unstable and iplete. It was certainly a unique power and without a certain level of intelligence, a person wouldn''t be able to figure out its actual use but it was too random and felt a little exaggerated.


    ''Most protagonists all get some kind of cheat when they get reincarnated but really, what kind of cheat is this supposed to be? Invincibility? Well, I guess it''s better than a simple elemental gift. This might even be the key for me to seed in this life. Being able to use all of the elemental gifts all at once might have been cool though... Yeah, that''s asking too much.'' I thought.


    I had already awakened this power when I turned 5 but I didn''t tell anything to my parents since I wanted to run some experiments and understand my ability a little bit better but I felt like I was more focused on gathering information. Well, I would have enough time to train more when my body grew up a little more, or so I thought.


    "It''s a particr gift, but I am still not sure what kind of power it is¡­ I think I need more time to train." I answered my father''s question and even though I had some ideas about my ability, I decided to not say anything that my father would exaggerate as I knew he would boast about this the next day.


    "A-a particr gift? I expect nothing less from you, my son. This is huge and the world will go into an uproar about this. This is something worth celebrating! Hahahaa!" My father talked loudly again and he even began tough proudly and heartedly. Then he stood out and lifted me in the air.


    "Dear~ We are still dining. Did you not hear what I said? Also, please let Adam finish his meal peacefully."  My mother talked with a sweet-sweet smile on her face but my father who was the Lord of Kepalta returned to his chair and gracefully continued to eat. Even I got goosebumps when my mother was like that.


    After that meaningful exchange, we finished dining and we continued to talk a little bit more inside my room before sleeping.


    At that time, the thought didn''t even cross my mind and I didn''t even know about the trouble that was just around the corner.

 Chapter 4 Young Lord

    Time felt like it flowed at an incredible speed and nine years had passed since the day I announced to my family that I awakened my gift.


    During that period, I had many things because I wanted to achieve new heights in this life but I had to admit that I got more attached to my new family than I first expected.


    My father was strict but very thoughtful, and he had that almostical side to him despite his usualposed and noble behavior.


    On the other hand, my mother was calm and sweet, and she was still attractive and extremely beautiful despite her age, but also a little scary when she had that sweet-sweet smile on her face.


    I tried to spend more time talking with them, and as I did, I learned that they were wonderful people loved by many.


    My father was a level 5 Lord and he was promoted to this rank mostly because the technology and the form of civilization on the that he managed were quite advanced.


    Ranks were given by the Empire to the most important person on a and ruled over it as its Lord, but my father was also respected by the other influential Lords because of his achievement, so he could advance in rank during a rtively short period.


    Furthermore, our was also rich in natural resources and full of mana stones that were sold at a very high price due to their usefulness, as they were often used to create battleships and armors for the soldiers.


    Because of this, the military department of this was quite something and the economy was booming, and although there were monsters, it was quite peaceful.


    Consequently, the people living on this were grateful to him and supported him heartedly.


    Despite all of that, it was unavoidable that some people were jealous of my father''s achievements and my mother''s dazzling beauty so they were always waiting for an opportunity to bring harm to my family.


    I was even surprised that they didn''t make their move all of this time but even if they came, I would not show them mercy.


    I only had my mother in my past life but she passed away when I turned 20, and I never met my father; although he never showed his face even when my mother passed away, I didn''t have any issue with it because I never considered him as a family anyway. Such a stranger wasn''t worth my time.


    But now, I had new people that I could consider my family and I was prepared to protect them.


    That was why in addition to these things that I needed to do as a future Lord, one major thing that I did during these years was to train, physically and mentally, to increase my power and efficiently control it.


    I also did some research rted to artificial intelligence and nanotechnology which seemed to be notpletely explored in this universe since people here tended to rely on their gifts, artifacts, and mana stones.


    There must be some kind ofputer helping with the calction rted to space travel and other things, but if AI existed, then the Empire must have done something to hinder the research rted to this field, or so I deduced.


    I believed that the result of this experimentation wille in handy for my journey.


    I was engrossed in all of these things, so much that I felt like I lost track of the time.


    *****


    The morning sunlight squeezed out from the gaps on the thick curtain and lightly covered my face with golden glimmer as Iy on my luxurious bed.


    It should be about six in the morning, so I opened my eyes slowly, waking up from a good night of sleep.


    It was a new day but not a typical one because, on that day, I turned 15 years old.


    Knowing my father, I already knew that he went and organized some extravagant events to celebrate my birthday, and because of that, the date of my birthday was considered a festive day for all of the people living on the under the jurisdiction of our family.


    People were looking forward to this day every year since my seventh birthday and millions of people came to the main continent to attend the festival. There were even influential and high-ranked Lords from differents that had good rtions with my father who were invited as very important guests.


    Also, some of the scheduled events were broadcasted all over the all day. My father outdid himself every year, and even if it was a bit over the top for a formermoner like me, I couldn''t help but be grateful and enjoyed what he prepared for me so I didn''t disapprove.


    Moreover, this event was rtively importantpared to the previous one because, in this world, a person was considered an adult when they turn 15 and had to make an official speech to mark theiring of age.


    I had to do the same and it will be also broadcasted all over the.


    "This is bad," I muttered as I imagined myself standing in front of millions of people.


    I could manage if I spoke in front of fifty or more people but this was something else.


    However, I didn''t have the choice since it was my duty, and it was only because of my status as the heritor of my father''s legacy that I could live in this world without worrying about food and money, focusing solely on improving my strength and acquiring more knowledge.


    If it wasn''t because of that, I would have struggled with many things and thesest fourteen years would have been so chaotic that thousands of webnovel chapters wouldn''t be able to tell the whole story.


    Now, however, it was time for me to assume my responsibility and face this world. I had more or less finished the basic preparations to set out for my epic adventure and find my ideal woman, and honestly, I was a little bit excited despite all of this.


    I had many things on my mind but I stood up from my bed and walked to the huge mirror nearby.


    My room was a room fit for someone who royal status so it had everything that a room should have but with a touch of luxury added to them.


    As stood in front of the mirror, my face was reflected in it, revealing my pitch-ck eyes, soft ck hair, and white and smooth skin.


    ''I definitely look better than before.'' I thought, feeling satisfied with my new physical appearance because I was taller than the average boys that had the same age as me and my well-trained muscle made my standing posture look firm and noble.<sub> </sub>


    Tok, tok, too!


    As I was examining my body, I heard someone knock then a maid spoke politely from beyond the door. "My lord, your father wants to talk with you. He asks you to join him outside in the garden, as soon as possible. He is already waiting for you there." She said, using a very respectful tone.


    "Thanks for telling me. Please tell him that I will be there soon." I answered back with a calm voice.


    I was sure that my father wanted to tell me about his past exploits again this time too because he did this every year on my birthday, to the point that it had be a sort of ritual.


    "I understand. Now then, I will report back to your father." The maid quietly left as soon as she finished saying these words. I could hear the sound of her quiet but rhythmic footsteps fade away.


    After that, the other maids helped me to dress up after I finished eating my breakfast, then went to the royal garden to see my father.


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    The royal castle was so enormous and spacious that it looked like a whole town.


    It took some time to walk from one ce to another.


    Consequently, there were thousands of maids, butlers, and other workers that managed the whole ce kept it clean, and made sure that everything functioned perfectly.


    One such worker was Lilia. She was a maid that came from a poor family but she was talented and with her hard work, she managed to be one of the royal maids. It was a real honor and she always felt grateful to the Lord that allowed her to prove her value. She promised to herself that she would always do her best to not waste the chance that she was given and to not disappoint the Lord.


    There was one thing that she particrly had to do wlessly, and that was her most important duty as one of the maids that took care of the young lord''s needs.


    On that day, the young will have aing of age ceremony and will deliver an official speech for the first time in his life.


    Lilia had a profound respect for the young Lord because for the people that worked inside the castle, the young lord, Adam, was always a source of inspiration and awe.


    For people like Lilia who worked hard every day, seeing their young lord always busy trying to learn new things, train his body, and sometimes perform various experiments made them feel like their work was worth it.


    After all, they knew that this young lord would one day be the Lord of this, and a hardworking person like the current lord, Julius, would surely be extraordinary too.


    Moreover, it was said that the young lord was a genius but he wasn''t arrogant like the other talented people of this world. He was humble and respected his parents and the people that took care of him. Most of the time he would talk politely to the maids and exhibited an aura of a true noble.


    Furthermore, thousands of young girls and even older girls were captivated by his handsome face and cool personality but the young lord didn''t even pay attention to them and most of the time, he seemed to be unaware of all of these things.


    In addition to this, the young lord was surprisingly powerful and he was already a level 4 gift holder despite his young age. This was a fact that shocked the world and it was said that the rumors made it to the Empire so they will send someone to assess the potential of the young lord on his fifteen birthday. With this, it was guaranteed that he will be invited to take the entrance examination of the Holy Academy.


    Lilia never traveled far from the main continent, let alone to another, but such news made her feel proud.


    "Okay, I need to do my best." Lilia steeled her resolve because on that day the young lord needed to look perfect.


    After that, she joined the other maids and stood in front of the young lord''s room.


    She straightened her back and held her chin up gracefully then lined up perfectly with the other maids and waited.


    In total, there were six maids and one butler who were tasked to dress up the young Lord and serve his food as soon as he finished changing.


    The oldest maid and the most experienced one walked forward and knocked on the door.


    She announced to the young lord that his father was waiting for him and she asked someone to report back the young lord''s reply, and then she asked for permission to enter the room. "My lord, we are tasked to help you with your preparation for today. Do you permit that we enter the room?"


    "Yes, please do." The young lord answered with a clear and quite charming voice.


    As soon as the maids heard these words, they entered the room cautiously and began to perform their duties skillfully while the young lord was standing in front of the mirror.


    Some of them tidied the bed, some opened the curtains and organized the room, and some took care of dressing the young lord.


    Lilia was one of the maids that were tasked with dressing the young lord. She and the other maids skillfully performed their job while the young lord stood straight and his well-defined body was reflected in the mirror.


    Lilia couldn''t help but hold her breath every time she witnessed this sight. The young lord must have worked hard to achieve this kind of perfect physical appearance that looked like a work of art.


    ''The young lord is a thousand times more amazing than his description from these rumors.'' Lilia thought and her respect for the young lord grew up.


    After finishing their job, the maids lined up in front of the young lord and admired the result of their effort: A young and talented handsome man dressed nobly and elegantly in royal clothing and had the future of the whole on his shoulder.


    Feeling satisfied, the maids bowed elegantly and exited the room in an organized manner, and looked forward to the events that were scheduled on that day.


    The thought of something going wrong didn''t even cross her mind, and not only her, but almost every else.

 Chapter 5 The Calm Before The Storm

    In a dimly lit room somewhere in the main continent of Kepalta, some people were gathered together secretly.


    The atmosphere around the room was restless but two people appeared to be not affected by it.


    These two people sat down imposingly in front of a round table and were facing each other. Behind them stood other individuals wearing sets of tough-looking body armor with their hands behind their backs and stood straight with stern faces.


    However, among all of them, there was a person who looked extremely nervous as they stood opposite the two sitting men.


    "So? Does that means that everything is  going ording to the n?" A middle-aged man who was sitting on one of the chairs asked. His voice was annoyingly high-pitched. He had a bald head and a goatee beard and his name were Balista, a level 6 Lord.


    "Mmm¡­ It seems so." One of the two men sitting on the chairs answered with a deep voice and nodded his head slightly. He had buffed muscle and his face looked like it was carved from a rock, and even though he was beardless, his blond hair attracted Balista''s eyes. His name was Randolph and he was a level 7 Lord.


    They were listening to the report of a spy, one of the few who managed to infiltrate the inner part of the government of Kepalta.


    This spy told them about the major events that happened inside of the royal castle during thest few years and also about the progress of their n to destroy Jilius''s legacy.


    One of them was there because of old grudges and the one because of mere jealousy and desire to control the resources of the, but whatever their reason might have been, they had the same goal and decided to join hands.


    Balista let out an annoying-soundingugh as he imagined Julius''s face. "He let his guard down and now he won''t even see thising. Hahaha!"


    "Mmmm..."


    The military corp of Kepalta which wasposed of a shadow corp, knights, and also millions or so of regr soldiers, was powerful and extremely loyal to Julius because most of them were people who admired, respected, and were grateful to him.


    Also, the internal personnel of the Kepalta''s government was very trustworthy and loyal to their Lord so it was hard for spies to infiltrate.


    However, it was not impossible and some spies managed to infiltrate.


    Even so, these spies couldn''t make any move because Julius was a very cautious person. He was very perceptive and had a godlike intuition so suspicious people wouldn''t be able to approach his family.


    Some high-level Lords also knew about the story of Julius before he changed his name to Kepalta and they knew that he had ties with someone in the Empire, so they were afraid to make any unwise move that might lead to the destruction of their entire family.


    However, time had changed and Julius now had a son.


    "This kid doesn''t even look that special¡­Mmmm." Randolph mumbled in a deep voice as he looked at the picture of a ck-haired boy.


    From the report, they were told that Adam was a genius but hecked ambitions and ego, unlike his father. He seemed to be nothing more than a kid that didn''t know what to do with his abilities.


    Balista licked his dry mouth with his tongue. "Hehehe, Julius seems to always brag about this brat though. I can''t wait to his face when the kid dies in front of his eyes. My blood is boiling with excitement just thinking about it."


    It looked disgusting even for Randolph but he ignored it since their goal aligned, otherwise, he would have buried this disgusting man''s head in the ground.


    Theing of age ceremony was the perfect time to make a move since envoys from the Empire and Lords from others wille to attend this ceremony, so if Randolph and Balista wanted to execute their n, then it had to be when people''s attention was focused on Adam, otherwise, Julius wouldn''t let anyone approach his family without him noticing. He was a level 6 gift holder after all and he was strong enough to fend off sneak attackers.


    Still, his family and he were always protected permanently by the shadow corp and by the royal knights, so there was no opportunity for a traitor to make their move, for example, to poison them, because every move of the people in the surrounding of the Lord and his family were carefully monitored day and night by extremely loyal guards.


    But this time, Julius allowed a lot of foreigners toe to his since it was a special asion and he had to straighten the level of security and inspection all around the, but he wouldn''t expect that a traitor had already infiltrated his ranks.


    It will be a disaster if he couldn''t figure that out and he might lose his wife and his son.


    "Mmm¡­ Still, can these artifacts summon level 4 monsters?" Randolph pondered out loud as he took the purple stone which was next to Adam''s picture in his hand and inspected it.


    "Yes, these are authentic artifacts. Even though they are banned by the Empire, I managed to put my hand on them in the ck market. Kukuku¡­" Balista answered excitedly as he took the other purple stone in his hand.


    Randolph seemed satisfied with Balista''s reply so turned his attention toward the person who was standing nervously in front of him.


    "Mmm¡­ You know the consequences if you fail, so I rmend you carefully hide these stones and wait for the right moment to activate them near the target. You shouldn''t be discovered by anyone and no one should ever have a suspicion about you. Now go!" He said.


    After hearing Randolph''s words, the spy exited the room holding a ragged sack.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    The weather was great. It was hot but the gentle wind brought a cool sensation to my skin.


    I walked in direction of the royal garden to discuss with my father, or rather, to perform that father and son ritual.


    We would do this every year and I would listen to the same story but with different twists added to it from time to time.


    Still, it was not like I disliked this kind of interaction between my father and me. This was something I never experienced in my past life so I was never used to it. "It''s not bad though..."


    As soon as I appeared at the entrance of the unique-looking building which looked like a much bigger version of the Louvre from the Earth, my father noticed me and excitedly waved his hand and gestured for me toe at him.


    I noticed that my mother was there too so I realized that this was some kind of family meeting and the discussion wouldst for a while.


    My parents were sitting around a luxurious white table that had various tea sets and luxurious sweets on top of it.


    "Here is the man. Look at you! Aren''t you looking like a real man?" My father said enthusiastically and tapped my back brusquely that I almost stumbled.


    I felt like he just repeated the samepliment two times. "Father..."


    Unlike my father who was too excited, my mother was calm and she looked at me with a face full of satisfaction, "Adam, how are you doing?" She said with a smile.


    "I am doing great, mother," I replied curtly, taken aback by the moods of my parents.


    After that, my father and I sat on our respective chairs and my mother began to pour some tea inside our cups. She was skilled at it and her movements were smooth and elegant.


    The tea had an appeasing aroma and tasted great. "So, what do you want to discuss, father?" I asked as I took a sip from my cup.


    "Yes, about that, the empire has sent me a notice saying they will send an envoy to assess your abilities. They will arrive shortly."


    "For what purpose?"<sub> </sub>


    As soon as he heard my question, excitation showed on my father''s face.  "Haha. Guess what? Even though the Holy Academy only epts children of level 7 Lord and higher, they decided to make an expectation and you''ll be able to attend the Holy Academy as soon as they finish assessing your abilities."


    "That''s great. Lately, I was thinking about this too," I replied with a calm face but there was a hint of excitement in my voice.


    I had already about the rumors concerning the envoy from the empire when I was reading at the library but now it was confirmed at one hundred percent.


    In this universe, interster and space travel was something rathermon fors under the jurisdiction of a level 5 Lord, and building spaceships for sake of long-distance travel was not new.


    Lord of every affiliated to the empire was evaluated and given a rank based on their influence and power, the total poption that they managed, the state of their territory and its extent, as well as the advancement of civilization and technology.


    They were ranked from levels 1 to 10.


    To put it simply, Lords from levels 1 to 4 were considered low-ranked Lord and didn''t have much influence outside of their territory.


    Their territory was also rtively small, most of the time a single, and the civilization and technology were not that advanced but they were recognized by the empire to have the potential to grow and be part of its power, so they were left alone to manage their territory and earn achievements to prove their usefulness to the Empire and advance in ranks.


    The Lords ranked between 5 to 7 were those who had an important influence, a vast territory constituted of fews, and controlled a few low-ranked Lords, giving them control over territory with a vast poption as well as an advanced form of civilization and technology. They were considered as part of the force of the empire and received some benefits from it, but they needed to support the empire with the war against the monster and the rebels.


    The Lord''s rank was hereditary but a Lord could be demoted as feasibly as they could be promoted depending on their contributions and achievements.


    It might take 3 to four generations for a to have its Lord advancing in rank since there were too many variables that needed to be taken into ount when it came to the development of civilization.


    The Lords ranked from 8 to 10 were very influential and their territories were located near the Imperial territories.


    These Lords had a vast territory and control hundreds of low-ranked Lords and manage hundreds ofs that had advanced civilizations and technology, and in addition to that, they were also tightly rted to the royalties and formed factions that supported a candidate as the next Emperor.


    Nevertheless, it didn''t mean that the low-ranked Lords could ess more advanced technology because on some of thes where the civilization appeared to be simr to medieval time Earth, such as the under the jurisdiction of the Kepalta family, the government could possess more advanced technology when it came to traveling in space.


    This was one of the biggest changes that the Empire brought to this entire universe and what surprised me the most was when I learned about how this world functioned.


    Here space travel was essible to everyone as long as they were acknowledged by the Empire. This created links between people living onpletely differents that were situated millions of kilometers away from each other, and Because of that, the Empire could send people anywhere in the universe and receive reports concerning events rted to monsters or other important urrences.


    Also, if I wanted to meet the finest woman in this universe, then I needed to attend the holy academy which was the gathering of talents and prideful people.


    "I see, so you already thought about that. I didn''t know that you had such an ambition but I am d that you want to do it. I even had to talk with some unpleasant people to arrange this meeting after all¡­" My father''s face turned gloomy at the end of his speech.


    He probably had to contact people rted to his former family which was something that he disliked. I didn''t know what kind of method he used but he sure wasn''t pleased about interacting with these people.


    "Thanks, father," I replied gently, seeing my father''s hard work.


    After hearing these words, my father quickly regained hisposure and began to talk loudly again. "Don''t mention it. However, you need to give it your best tomorrow and today too! I look forward to hearing your speech. After all, you don''t talk that much usually. Hahaha."


    "I-I will try my best..." I answered a little bit nervously.


    My mother who stayed quiet until then finally said something, perhaps because she noticed that I reacted to my father''s words. "Adam, this is not something that you should fear. You can be nervous but don''t be scared to face your people. You need to stand dignifiedly and do your utmost so that I and your idiot of father, and every person living on this, can be proud of you."


    She had a delightful look on her face, but a part of what she said made my father sit straight and gracefully took a sip from his cup.


    She inferred that I was gifted, and even if it was my first time, she believed that I could do it.


    "I understand mother. Thank you, I will do my best to make you proud." I said because I liked my new parents and I wanted to repay them for all of the things that they did for me until now.


    "Your mother is right, you see¡­"


    After that, my father finally began to talk about his past exploit and his epic eloping story with my mother.


    Like a story from these ssical works on Earth, it seemed that my parents were from two families that belonged to two rival factions.


    My mother, who was still beautiful yearster, was described as the most beautiful woman in the whole universe at that time.


    I knew that my father exaggerated a bit to please my mother but looking at her from where I sat, I couldn''t help but believe this description.


    My father who was partly bragging talked about how he snatched my mother from her family and then brought her to a faraway.


    From the way he said it, he had only a few hundred loyal men who supported him but those who chased him were more than a hundred thousand people.


    It was a very interesting story but I always hear about it every year.


    After his story, my father continued and gave me advice. "Adam, you need to be aware that there are people who are not pleased with the prosperity of our. And some are still holding grudge against me, in other words, against our family. So, you need to be cautious and be more aware of the world around you as your sessor. Attending the Academy will allow you to grow as a person and expand your horizon."


    "I won''t let you down, father," I replied.


    "Hahaha. Adam, it''s not about my feelings, our your mother''s. It''s about you and what you want to do. The title of Lord is just a title, it''s you who decide what to do with it. The things that you can achieve in this life depend only on you. We are only here to guide you."


    I could feel the affection of my father behind his words.


    ''What do I want to do?'' I pondered.


    I didn''t know how I looked but I felt awkward when I replied. "I want to be like you father. I want to conquer the woman I love with my efforts and bring her home." It didn''t sound like a big ambition, but this was a particr wish of mine. However, when I said that, I also wanted to imply that I wanted to be a great man like him and not end up like what had be of me in my previous life.


    My father was a little bit shocked to hear me voice my ambition but then, "Well said my son. You take after me," he said.


    My mother on the other hand said nothing and just looked at me with a smile.


    She looked like she had some thoughts about me, but they were proven wrong by my statement so she was relieved.


    ''What kind of thought she had about me?'' I wondered.


    Time passed quickly as the three of us continued to chat, and before I knew it, it was already time to perform my speech.

 Chapter 6 The Calm Before The Storm (Part 2)

    :::[Third person POV]:::


    The events that were happening on the under the jurisdiction of Lord Kepalta seemed to have picked the attention of some people in the Empire and the Holy Church so they sent envoys, consisting of two people from the Holy Church and one level 8 Lord along thousands of Imperial soldiers.


    These people would never travel to a remote and insignificant such as Adam''s home normally but this time, it was an exception. After all, it was said that the son of Lord Kepalta awakened his gift when he was six years old but the nature of his gift was still unknown, still the Holy church agreed to assess his potential of this.


    As for the another envoy from the Holy Empire, he was there to negotiate with Lord Kepalta about a deal rted to the exportation of high-qualits mana stone to the Empire, at least officially, but the real reason behind it was thanks to the Raizel family using their connection to have Adam''s potential assessed, but without a doubt, they had other ns concerning him and wanted to bring him to the academy so they agreed to help.


    "This better be worth the trip." The level 8 Lord called Gordon Vi Loyena looked displeased as he said these words. He was a tall man in histe twenties and he had a darkplexion and silver hair. His race was called Aniak and his pointy ears made him stand out from the people that came with him.


    The Loyena family was affiliated with the Raizel family which was Julius'' former family.


    The Raizel family had recovered from their fall and was on the rise during thest decade or so with Julius'' brother Redmond Von Raizel as its head.


    Even though Gordon was a level 8 Lord, he couldn''t against the order of Redmond because he was only promoted to level 8 Lord not too long after the former noble was demoted and executed after being suspected of treason against the Emperor, so Gordon was still young and inexperienced, and his territory was vast, obliging him to seek the support of influential lords to keep his status solid and receive help concerning his territory management.


    Julius was considered a traitor, not by the Empire but by his family, because he should have be the head of the Raizel family if he didn''t run away with a woman from a rival faction but time passed and his brother who didn''t dislike him became the head of the Raizel family he was more or less forgiven and some people had even forgotten about him.


    However, Julius had a son who was rumored to be a genius, and Redmond, the head of the Raizel family was curious about his nephew and had a project for him so he wanted to bring him to the empire.


    "If the son ofdy Marie has the seed of the primordial authorities then this is worth more than the lives of every being on this." A woman wearing a white set of nun clothes which was extremely alluring due to her apparent perfect curves made a statement, her face devoid of emotions.


    She was known as sister Gracia, one of the envoys from the holy church along with the bulky man wearing ck priest clothing standing beside her.


    The three of them, Gracia, Gordon, and the priest was currently spending time on a luxurious building''s veranda which had a great view of the Royal Castle of Kepalta.


    Garcia and Gordon were seated but the priest was standing.


    ''So she is saying that this brat can be worth more than millions of lives huh¡­ These people from the Holy Church are a scary bunch.'' Gordon thought to himself.


    He lusted over sister Gracia''s body previously, but after spending time with her and the mysterious priest, he had some serious second thoughts and kept his lust deep inside his heart.


    ''That priest guy is bad news.''


    Gordon was a level 7 gift-holder himself but he knew that he couldn''t win against this bulky-looking priest.


    These two people from the Holy Church didn''t even bother to bring guards with them, unlike Gordon who brought a hundred or so of his most powerful men.


    All of the thousands of soldiers that came with them in the Imperial spaceship stayed inside of the ship in space and only a few people went to meet with the head of the Kepalta family.


    ''Well, I am just going to do what I was asked to do and be over with this. I don''t feelfortable with these people.''


    Gordon thought as he took a side nce at sister Gracia who sat opposite him but she didn''t show any reaction at all and only stared in the direction of the Royal castle with emotionless eyes.


    After seeing this, Gordon sighed and stayed silent, their conversation ended there.<sub> </sub>


    *****


    Inside the Royal castle of Kepalta, everyone was busy and the schedule for the day was already nned months ago.


    The head of the Royal knight, the head of the Defense, and the head of the Shadow corp were particrly busy, but they still organized a quick meeting to discuss their respective duties.


    "As usual, the royal knights will be tasked with protecting the Royal Castle which includes his highness and his family. This is a duty of the utmost importance. After all, some cockroaches will certainly attempt something scandalous at a time like this. They never learn."


    The head of Defense made a statement as he looked at the pile of paper on his desk.


    His name was Delio and he was middle-aged in his forties withmon facial features and brown hair. He wore an elegant set of clothing and sat in front of his desk.


    Sitting in front of Delio were two particr men.


    One of them wore a set of silver full-body armor made of Sterium which was made with extremely light material and designed in a way that it wouldn''t hinder the wearer''s movement. His name was Silvestre and he was a level 7 gift holder. He had curly blond hair and looked like he was in his early thirties.


    Silvestre nodded at Delio''s words because he was currently the head of the Royal knight, a unit that gathered many talented gift holders all around the who received rigorous training and became part of one of the pirs that support the royal family and the Lord, so his duty was extremely important. Even though these people came from different backgrounds and different statuses, they were all given the chance to show their value,  so they all respected Julius.


    Many young men dream of bing Royal knights of Kepalta because it was an honor for them to be able to protect the Lord, making their families very proud of them.


    "The Shadow corp will be tasked with information gathering. His Highness allowed many foreigners tond on our but that doesn''t mean that they can do whatever they want in our territory." Delio said, looking at the man next to Sylvestre, "Make sure to not leave any suspicious person to wander around in shadow unchecked. The authorization to execute every person who is suspicious but refuses to cooperate, whoever they are, is granted and approved by the Lord," he continued.


    The other man who was sitting in next to Silvestre nodded at Delio''s words.


    He wore a set of ck clothing which consisted of a ck cloak and a ck bodysuit. His face looked sharp with his ck hair and pitch-ck eyes along with the distinct scar on his left cheek. His name was Brad and he was also a level 7 gift holder that specialized in stealth, assassination, and information gathering, making him the head of the Shadow corp of Kepalta, and despite his look, he was around the same age as Silvestre.


    The shadow corps was not known by the general public but it was also one of the pirs that supported the Lord. It was a unit that specialized in various works that could only be done in the shadow, and its member was very secretive.


    "These papers include the details of your duties. Now, continue with your work, and don''t bring shame or disappointment to our Lord." Delio handed some papers to Brad and Silvestre.


    After they received these papers, Brad and Silverstre stood from their chairs. "Roger!" The two men said in unison and left the room.


    Delio looked at them as they left the room and began to deal with the other documents left on his desk.


    For the fewst days, Delio made sure that security all other the was right. He inspected all of the people that came to the main continent, as well as the foreigners from differents, and made sure that no suspicious people were roaming around.


    Delio was the head of Defense under Lord Julius''s jurisdiction and so he controlled a big part of the''s force, mostly the regr soldiers and all of the other troops rted to the defense, buttely, he felt like something went past his eyes. It was just intuition and there was no concrete evidence to back it up but he was still worried that something might happen.


    ''Well, the people around the Lord are all trustworthy, so if such a thing happens then it must be from someone that came from the outside. I need to be extremely wary of any potential suspect. We can''t let any harm reach the young Lord on this important day.''


    Delio, as he continued to deal with the information rted to the state of things that was currently transpiring all around the.

 Chapter 7 An Unexpected Turn Of Events

    ''This is bad, this is bad!'' I panicked a little as the time of my speech was nearing because I began to feel more nervous than I expected. My hands trembled uncontrobly and I couldn''t stay put so I walked around and talked to some of the guests before the speech.


    p My father and I went to a majestic edifice connected to the Royal Castle one hour before the ceremony and began to greet the important guests from others along with the envoys from the Holy Church and the Empire.</anda>


    The location was more spacious than the other ces so it was used for national public gatherings and other official asions because there was what looked like a za next to it.


    My speech would take ce on this za, or more precisely on the edifice in front of it, and I had to face the eyes of hundreds of thousands of people. In addition to that, it would be broadcasted live so that the people who didn''te to the za could follow it from where they were.


    "Talking about a nerve-wracking situation," I grumbled. "Well, at least for a former run-of-mill guy like me."


    I more and more anxious as I tried to remember the content of my speech and then looked at the time. ''Only 30 minutes before it begins.''


    Thirty minutes ago, guests arrived one after another.


    Most of them were Lords of others and their families or nobles served as a substitute for the Lords who couldn''te.


    As I looked around the room, I could observe some familiar faces which I couldn''t match with a name around the room.


    Most of them seemed to be taking part in a discussion with a group of people and some of them even tried to exchange greetings with many people as they could mostly because events like this were also a chance to build new rtions.


    As I expected, some people tried to talk to me and I couldn''t ignore them.


    "Good afternoon, mister Adam," Someone said.


    "Good afternoon, miss,"  I answered back.


    ''This girl, what''s her name again?'' I thought as a girl who was around the same age as I approached me and tried to initiate a conversation. There were a lot of people who wanted to talk to me, and most of them was the daughter of Lords or the nobles, but since I didn''t have the time to deal with them, I pretended to listen and replied curtly when needed then continued to wander around.


    After all, I was constantly worried about what would happen if I messed up my speech so I didn''t want to be distracted by something unexpected.


    Besides, most of the topics of the conversations were about me since I was the subject of this asion, making it a little bit ufortable to continue the discussion because they were asking about my age, the nature of my gift, my future projects, my type of girl, my preference, and other personal information. Honestly, it was very tiring and it didn''t help to relieve my stress.


    ''Okay, let''s get out of here for now,'' I thought, feeling like I was more stressed as I talked to these girls.


    Thus, I decided to stroll around the spacious area, and as I did, some people picked my attention. One of them was a woman who wore a nun attire that made her long beautiful blond hair and delicate face stand out and also emphasized her mature charms that only older women had. She introduced herself as sister Gracia.


    Next to Gracia, there was a very intimidating priest wearing a ck robe who didn''t utter a word since their arrival.


    The two of them had this mysterious aura surrounding them which made it hard for people to approach them, and as soon as they finished exchanging formalities with my father and me, they went straight to their VIP seats and never moved from there.


    I made sure to take a mental note that these people were the ones who would assess my ability the next day because I had the feeling that they were already observing me.


    One other guest that picked my curiosity was the level 8 Lord called Gordon because he looked like a dark elf described in these books that I used to read back on Earth.


    I was a little bit surprised that some races had the same intelligence, maybe even more intelligent than humans in this universe. They were fewpared to humans but they were not rare either, and since I had almost finished reading all of the books in the royal library, I was more knowledgeable about this world, so I theorized that Gordon was part of the race called Aniak.


    Gordon was supposedly the person who had ties with my father''s former family, and from the look of it, my father''s former family, the Raizel, was interested in me.


    I didn''t have enough information to determine if it was a good thing or not but I was interested in going to the empire so this might have been a good opportunity if nothing else.


    As for a potential romantic target, no one picked my interest, because the girls that were present there, all looked like the typical prideful noble girls from these historical dramas.


    ''It''s not the time for that anyway... I need to focus on the speech for now,'' I thought, but as I strolled around, a lot of people insisted to talk to me so I began to feel thirsty and wanted to drink something.


    Although I could see some maids walking around serving drinks, what I wanted was a special ice tea made with special tea leaves and fruit extract, a recipe created by my mother. Thus, I looked for the head maid and then requested her for that special ice tea.


    After a few moments, the head maid came back and offered me something different from what I requested.


    "Young Lord, your mother prepared this for you. She said that it will help you with your stress," the maid said, and after hearing her words, I took a look around and saw that my mother had arrived.


    It seemed like she expected this situation and prepared something for me because she was always thoughtful.


    ''Thanks, mother,'' I said to myself.


    I drank the beverage that the head maid brought and it had a refreshing taste, making me feel refrigerated and revigorated. Even though it had a slight taste of mint, it was still tasty.


    *****


    Time passed quickly and it was already time for the ceremony to begin, so my father stood up in a charismatic manner and presented himself in front of thousands of people.


    I was sitting next to my mother and the other important people sat behind us on the right and left sides.<sub> </sub>


    I watched my father''s actions because he was different from his usual at times like this and I felt like I could learn something from him.


    This world had technology simr to microphones and cameras but more advanced. Using these pieces of equipment, my father''s image was projected on two huge screens that even the people at the back could see and his voice was also amplified so that it can fill the whole za. However, it was also my father''s charismatic voice and attitude that managed to grab the attention of these thousands of people, and their eyes were focused on him.


    "My dear people, esteemed guests, it is with great joy and pride that I announce to you that my son wille to be an adult from today onward. So¡­" My father began to talk but I couldn''t hear what he said.


    I felt dizzy and my head was hazy.


    ''Was I this nervous?'' I thought, messaging my palm a bit, but suddenly, I couldn''t feel my legs and my mind went nk. ''This is seriously bad...''


    ''Huh!?'' I felt something poking my arm, and I turned to look beside me, then I saw my mother gesturing for me to stand up.


    It seemed like my father had already finished his speech and it was my turn, but for some reason, I couldn''t even follow his speech.


    Even so, I stood up and walked to the ce where my father stood, but my mind went nk, and I couldn''t feel my body as if my head was floating.


    ''What happened to me? This is not normal,'' I wondered.


    I felt my body temperature rising at an unnatural speed. ''Even if I am extremely nervous, I shouldn''t be like this,'' I thought and bad feelings began overflowing in my heart.


    Little by little, I felt like I was suffocating I couldn''t open my mouth as muscle was assaulted by agonizing pain.


    I felt my strength leaving and I fell to my knees, but I still couldn''t say anything so I used my sheer willpower to turn around and look at my parents.


    However, before anyone could react to what was happening to me, a ragged sack containing a purple crystal-like stonended in front of my mother.


    Everyone was stunned, but when someone was about to inspect the sack, something inside made a breaking sound and a dark-purple rift appeared in front of my mother. In a question of a second, a dimensional portal materialized and monsters overflowed out of it literally like starving beasts.


    ''Damn it!'' I thought, realizing that I messed up. It was said that an unknown phenomenon urred and affected the whole universe, bringing monsters that came from different dimensions to this world through a dimensional portal.


    The origin of this phenomenon was surrounded by mystery schrs and historians who have their theories about it, but it was said that everything fell into delirious chaos at that time and reality became something irrational that all living that possessed a certain level of intelligence began to question their existence. Of course, I thought that I would be prepared for such a thing but unlike what I expected, I was not fully prepared. ''What the hell is this?''


    My father used his fire elemental power to prevent the monster from reaching my mother, but he was a few secondste.


    As if everything happened in slow motion, I saw a vicious ck-wolf-like monster biting on my mother''s right hand which she used to protect her face. However, the monsters that came out of the three meters wide dimensional gate were already close to her, and she was helplessly assaulted without a way to defend herself.


    ''Damn it!!''


    My mother was already critically wounded before my father could fend off the monsters around her.


    It all happened so fast that only a few people could react quickly.


    Six shes of light came down from the sky and obliterated six monsters, then Silvestre and Brad appeared next to my parents and began to use their elemental power.


    People only began to shout and panic after a few seconds. "Monsters!"


    As for me, I couldn''t do much and I even tried to use my power, but I helplessly slumped down on the ground instead.


    I could see my father panicking, holding my mother who was in a critical state and covered in red crimson blood in his arms.


    "A healer! Quick, a healer¡­ Is anyone here a healer," My father shouted desperately.


    However, his voice was overwhelmed by the panicking people and the roar of the monsters that came out at an insane speed from the portal.


    The royal knights and other soldiers began fighting the monsters, but as soon as they eliminated a certain number, other monsters already reced them.


    Furthermore, these monsters were level 4 monsters so even level 7 gift holders had a hard time fighting against multiple of them.


    This is why portals were synonymous with disaster in this world because no one knew the exact number of ferocious monsters that awaited beyond them.


    ''I need to do something...'' I thought, trying hard to keep myself conscious while bearing the pain, but before I knew it, chaos had already spread all around the za and people were running for their lives, and those who had powers began to protect themselves and their families.


    Even though the royal knights fought against these monsters, they couldn''t eliminate them all at once, and most of all, the biggest problem was the portal because as long it was open, monsters wille out of it.


    ''Portals could only be sealed using powerful artifacts or by masters who possessed the power of authority that can confine space and time,'' I recalled, ''but with my power, I should be able to do something about it... If only I could ignore the pain and focus on activating my power... I need to try.''


    I knew that only high-level artifacts could open portals since the primordial particles inside them came from the Era of Gods when the universe was still a pure form of energy.


    Unfortunately, the tragedy didn''t end there and when everyone else was battling monsters, their attention focused on the first portal, I saw a second rift appearing behind them.

 Chapter 8 An Unexpected Turn Of Events (Part 2)

    :::[Third person POV]:::


    Before the second portal opened, Julius was feeling hopelessness, anger, and regret surging from deep inside his heart.


    He held his beloved wife in his arms but her smile was gone and was reced by a face full of agony.


    ''How did ite to this?''


    Julius thought, cursing his negligence and the fact that he didn''t even think about the probability that a high-level artifact could be used in such a way in broad daylight without anyone noticing.


    "Marie, hang in there. A healer! Quick, I need a healer!"


    Julius shouted at the top of his lungs but the turmoil overwhelmed his voice, and since people were busy trying to save their lives, most of them didn''t even twice before running away as fast as they could, ignoring the injured ones.


    In his anguish, another thought crossed Julius, and then looked around, his heart almost stopped after seeing Adam lying on the ground helplessly.


    "Wha-what happened? Adam!!?"


    He couldn''t leave his wife alone, but his son looked like he was about to die in front of his eyes, and even though Julius was a mentally strong person, at that moment, he didn''t know what to do.


    The chaos, the sounds, the smell of blood, the clouds of dust, everything made him lose his ability to think rationally.


    But when he was in a state of desperation, a voice came from behind him.


    "I shall help Lady Marie," Sister Gracia said, approaching Julius who was in a state of indescribable shock, and the tough-looking priest next to her annihted the monsters around them. "This is a delicate process. Marcel, no one should interrupt it," She added.


    Marcel was a level 7 gift holder, and he was about to ovee the barrier between level 7 and level 8, so it would be no exaggeration if someone said that he was the strongest person present on the at that moment.


    "I understand," Marcel answered with a deep and calm voice then more than fifty cross-shaped beams of lights appeared around him.


    He was very efficient at controlling the primordial particles surrounding him, and since the light particle was more abundant than the other particles, it gave him more options in defending and attacking, but his biggest advantage as a light elemental user was his speed of attack.


    Marcel waved his hand and the beam of lights moved around the area at an incredible speed, prating hundreds of monsters and killing them instantly, and because the light elemental attribute had great destructive power, only slightly inferior to the fire attribute, and a wide range of attacks, he could deal with multiple monsters at once.


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    While Marcel was eliminating the monsters that approached them, Gracia took off her special glove and began to heal Marie, using her particr gift that could restore things she touched to heal Marie.


    Julius looked so worried as he watched the process but he couldn''t do anything. "I leave her in your hand," he said, feeling a bit powerless then he tried to go to check out Adam''s state but suddenly, he heard an ominous sound behind him, and when he turned back, his face turned pale.<sub> </sub>


    *****


    "Protect the Lord!" The head of the shadow Corps and the Royal knights were among the first people who reacted as soon as they realized what was happening.


    Sylvestre used his lightning elemental power and shed the monsters around Julius and Marie with a sword made of Sterium, and using his momentum to create a huge shock wave, he sent the monsters flying away.


    Sterium was one of the rare metals that be used used to absorb, store and control primordial particles, thenpiled them into powerful elemental attacks that could inflict damage up to ten times more than normal ones, that was why gift holders below level 8 like Silverstre tended to use weapons made of Sterium when fighting monsters.


    "Filthy monsters," shouted Silvestre, realizing that he was one step toote, "how dare you!!!"


    The cracking sounds of lighting resonated around the area and then the thunderous impact struck the monsters.


    Sylvestre was a level 7 gift-holder and he could efficiently control the lighting primordial particles inside of his body and in his surroundings, creating an area of effect but He was still far from rising to level 8 which was seemingly a world apart from his level.


    Nevertheless, his current power was not something to scoff at because the lightning elemental gift had great destructive power and it also increased the holder''s level of mobility when they reach a certain level like Sylvestre.


    h! sh!


    As for Brad, the head of the Shadow Corp, he quickly assisted Julius and protected Marie by rapidly eliminating the monsters with one-hit-kill attacks.


    His darkness elemental gift was perfect for assassination and sneak attacks because darkness elemental particles had the particr characteristic of absorbing other elemental particles that came in contact with it, making it hard to defend against the sneak attack of someone who possessed this elemental gift.


    Moreover, when the holder of this type of elemental gift reached level 8 or higher, they could create a certain area where other people wouldn''t be able to control the primordial particles efficiently.


    However, the holder had to reach a certain level to be able to use it in daylight when light particles which were the most abundant primordial particles in the universe were active, but obviously, the opposite could also happen during nighttime and it would be the light and other elemental gift users who needed to reach a certain level to avoid being overwhelmed.


    Since Brad was a level 7 gift holder, he could slice monsters which were mostly made of primordial particles as easily as slicing a piece of bread, but it was apparent that the darkness elemental giftcked pure destructive power at the level and his area of effect was greatly limited in daylight.


    Boom! Boom!


    The situation quickly escted to an all-out battle against monsters in which Brad and Sylvestre continued to demonstrate their power and killed as many monsters as they could.


    The rest of the Royal Knights and the shadow corp also joined the battle and even though most of them were level 4 and 5 gift holders, they were still of great help to the normal soldiers who were giftless and were tasked to evacuate the guests and t civilians he proa safer ce.


    Nheless, the situation was dire and it took a certain amount of time to evacuate people a certain artifact was needed to close the portal permanently.


    Unfortunately, the situation became more rming and desperate when a second portal appeared even though a single one was already hard to deal with.

 Chapter 9 Pride

    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    After seeing the second portal opening, everything that appeared in my field of vision moved in slow motion and I realized that the worst had yet toe.


    The events that urred during thest fifteen years shed back in my mind, and as if my thoughts were elerated by a boost of adrenaline, I began to question the things that I did. ''How did it alle to this?'' I asked myself, trying to think about the details that I missed and the circumstances that led to this oue.


    I thought that something had changed over these years, but it seemed like I was too focused on myself so I didn''t see anythinging, believing that everything was fine if I didn''t bother anyone.


    I trained and learned a lot of things, but was it enough? Or did I just convince myself that it was enough and believed that my power would help me to deal with any kind of situation?


    It was ironic that I lived a luxurious life after I came to this world, not having anything to worry about apart from my person, and still ended up like this.


    ''People do not change their ways so easily, do they?'' I thought, ''Maybe it would have been different if I reincarnated in a poor family and struggled to obtain my power.''


    Even so, I couldn''t ept the thought that I would die for the second time and waste my second chance because of something as stupid as being poisoned. ''Just a few years in luxury and this is what happens? I am pathetic. What the hell was I thinking?'' I reckoned, looking back at what I did during these fifteen years and realizing that it was far from enough.


    I was used to the feeling of luxury that my new status had granted me and because of the way my parents treated me, it seemed like I be conceited and full of myself, letting my guard down when I was with them and everyone who worked inside the castle.


    Moreover, fifteen years had passed without needing me to make any sort of effort. I could even sleep all day if I wanted to, and even though I always tried to convince myself that I would use my second chance differently, unlike the other protagonists of these popr stories, in the end, I ended up doing worse than them because at least they could protect themselves.


    ''I need to do something! Think! think! Think...'' I thought, resolving myself to not be the kind of person that I dislike the most. ''It''s out of the question that I will end up dying as a loser again...''


    I never felt so desperate in my life, and for the time after I came into this world, I realized the true value of the second chance that was given to me.


    However, everything that I coulde up with to deal with the situation seemed unrealistic since my only redeeming quality was useless, and I couldn''t move my limbs even if I wanted to crawl to that portal.


    Also, the monsters that came out from the second portal were numerous and were at least level 4.


    I could at least recognize them because these humanoid and ugly monsters were called goblins and even though they weren''t as strong as the wolf-type monsters, they were ranked as level 4 monsters because of their intelligence and viciousness.


    These short monsters carried weapons and wore armors which made it hard to fight them since they could also control the primordial particles instinctively, increasing their mobility and range of attack.


    To put it simply, they were the description of the word scoundrels and it was only thanks to the tough-looking priest that I was still alive.


    After the goblins began to perform sneak attacks on the Royal Knights when they were focused on fighting against the wolves.


    And apart from being vicious with their attacks, these despicable minsters didn''t even leave dead bodies alone but began to crush them with their weapons as if they were having fun.


    ''Bastard!'' I thought, looking at the scene in front of me. Something that I could have prevented if I was more attentive to my surroundings and thought twice before drinking that juice.


    ''Mother¡­''


    I saw my motherying on the ground with sister Gracia''s hand on her forehead, and I could also see my father and Marcel trying hard to protect the two of them as they took a side nce at me who was surely in a pitiful state from their point o view.


    ''What the hell is this¡­'' I couldn''t stand the fact that I was bing a burden to everyone. ''Me... A burden?''


    ''I need to get hold of myself!''


    ''I need to do something¡­ I¡­''


    *****


    Suddenly, I felt strong emotions going out of control deep inside as if my heart was on the verge of exploding, and in a desperate attempt to do the only thing that I could do, which was attempting to close the portals with my power, I forced my body to crawl forward, but I couldn''t feel my limbs and my brain couldn''t properly control them so I didn''t know if I was moving forward or not.


    "Ku.." My voice was stuck in my throat and I couldn''t ask for someone to bring me near the portal so I realized once again how bad my condition was, but I didn''t want to die without achieving anything.


    ''Huh?'' When I felt like all hope was gone, something extremely strange urred and I suddenly felt my body was moving by itself and standing up.


    I wasn''t sure what was happening but I was like a co-pilot even though it was my own body, and it felt weird. ''What''s going on? What the hell is happening to me?''<sub> </sub>


    I knew that I was desperate and I wished for a miracle to happen, but this was something that I didn''t expect. It was as if my body was being controlled, and I was overwhelmed by a feeling of confidence so I became very calm, not feeling any hesitation, fear, anxieties, or doubts, Fe if I just woke up from a bad dream and realized that everything was fine.


    ''What is this insanity?'' I thought, wondering if I had lost my mind, because, at that moment, I looked at my mother, at the monsters, at the portals, and at what was happening around but the word ''difficult'' didn''t even cross my mind.


    I felt like some of my feelings were locked while some others were emphasized. ''Are those my feelings? Who are you?'' I asked myself like a fool, but I wasn''t even sure that I was myself anymore, and as I was thinking about that, I felt like my body was about to explode, then I lost control over my body as if it was taken over.


    My lips moved and a voice came out of my mouth even though I didn''t even think about saying anything. "This is certainly a poison that affects slowly the nerves and the muscles. I need to neutralize its effects for now." I said,  understanding the situation that I was in without any difficulty. It was a very strange feeling that I couldn''t describe with words alone


    Then, I inspected the surrounding. "And from what I can see, there seem to be two portals and approximately 420 monsters that are still alive. You always make things difficult, Mark." I said, but I knew that it was not me who was talking, and hearing the name from my previous life shocked me a little bit.


    It seemed like some kind of entity influenced my mind and continued to analyze the situation as he spoke to me. "The extent of your power is currently limited but I can alter some elements for a certain amount of time and close these portals during that time. What I need now is speed and a force of execution so this sword will do." I didn''t feel any doubts while uttering these words even though the entity was speaking through me and the feeling of confidence and pride that I felt was genuinely real.


    My voice sounded clear and extremely pleasant and it echoed throughout the whole ce even though everything appeared to be chaotic.


    I felt like my strength was bottomless and one of my punches could create a shockwave that can destroy thousands ofs.


    Then my body began to float in the air, "I altered my center of gravity and so this body should be able to glide around," I said, feeling the entity talking through me.


    When I was afloat dignifiedly above the ground, my eyes stared down at the world below me and the entity continued talking. "This sma sword looks decent even though it was just a prototype," he said, taking out the sma sword which was made of Sterium and mana stone, assembled with the ability of nanotechnology that I kept hidden in the inner pocket of my clothes. It was just a prototype that I thought will increase my chance of survival so I didn''t use it often and I almost missed the chance to do so.


    After that, my body leaped forward at an unbelievable speed as if it was being pulled by some sort of gravitational force while the monsters that were at least within a range of five meters around me were neutralized by my power.


    The original gift that I received when I came to this world was a cheat-like power, even if it felt iplete, but the ability to float wasn''t part of it so I was the most surprised when my body used two abilities at once. One to fly around and one to neutralize the monsters.


    The original gift only neutralized the mobility of living beings and couldn''t do anything else to them, but what made me realize how stupid I was. ''This ability''s range of use was extremely limited if couldn''t move around quickly which was a skill that Icked.''


    In one on one fight, I knew that no one could beat me if I intended to kill them, but after seeing that my body was exterminating monsters like some sort of angel who held a sword of judgment, I realized that I could do better.


    sh, sh, sh!


    The sma sword might have been a prototype but it was very effective against monsters than against people, and whether it was the despicable goblins or the ferocious wolf, my sword didn''t give them the time to react and they were chopped into pieces, dying instantly.


    Roar! Roar!


    The monsters got agitated after seeing my one-sided massacre and rushed at me literally like mad beasts, but even after seeing theming at me, I was calm and I could observe every detail in their movements, their weaknesses, predicting their angle of attack, so I didn''t have any feelings of doubt concerning my victory.


    ''Everything... is simple and clear.'' I thought.


    I once again raised my sword, and as if performing an elegant dance, I sliced the monsters one by one without any wasted movement.


    sh! sh! sh!


    Not even a single monster could survive one of my attacks, so I didn''t even turn back as I approached the portals and activated the power of neutralization, returning them to a pile of rock.


    My power stopped all of the activities that were generated by the unstable primordial particles and they returned to simple inactive, neutral particles, which could easily be dissolved by the world.


    I had a guess, but I wasn''t sure that I would be able to do it with the power so the reality in front of me gave me a shocking realization.


    Moreover, It all happened so fast and if it wasn''t for the monster body parts scattered everywhere around the ce, no one would even remember that there were monsters a few minutes ago, but I wasn''t even surprised since the word failure never crossed my mind during the process.


    After I finished my one-sided ughter, I turned around, and as soon as I saw my mother, I felt sad again and regained control of my body.


    However, as soon as I did, all of my strength yet again left my body, and I fell to the ground for a second time, losing my consciousness for good.


    ------------------------------------


    *Note: Mark is the name of our protagonist before he got reincarnated.

 Chapter 10 Who Is He?

    :::[Third person POV]:::


    A few moments Before Adam fell to the ground, every person who witnessed what just happened had their mouth agape due to astonishment.


    The Lords and Nobles who watched from distance all thought that they were witnessing the strength of a level 8 gift holder so they couldn''t help but open their eyes wide while watching the whole scene. ''Is he the same person as earlier?'' Almost everyone present there had the same thoughts.


    Delio''s mind overflowed with questions as he looked at the young man who had crimson red eyes floating in the air with a dumbfounded look on his face. ''What''s happening? What was that sword? How did he close the portals? How did he hide such power until now?'' He thought because the Adam in front of him gave a new and different impression than his usual self.


    Delio couldn''t help but question the reality in front of him and the way Adam used his sma sword to pulverize the monsters left a deep impression in his mind because he was not a pushover even if he worked in the office most of the time.


    He was a level 5 gift holder and during the disaster, he used his earth elemental ability to protect the guests and protect himself. His gift had high defensive power and was useful at modeling raw natural elements so gave him the ability to control certain minerals and metals which allowed him to help a certain number of people by himself.


    Even so, the way Adam used his power to float and sh these level 4 monsters as if they were made of butter made Delio think twice about his evaluation of the young lord. ''Was he using two particr gifts at the same time?''


    Adam''s aptitude to use two different abilities didn''t make any sense at all to Delio because a person could only use one ability given to them by the gift. ''Or did he reach a level at which he can fly?''


    In any case, the things that Adam just aplished were nothing sort of legendary for someone who lived on a faraway and it will go down in history as the birth of a legendary individual, or so Delio thought.


    *****


    Looking at Adam who was still floating dignifiedly in the air, sister Gracia, Marcel, and Julius were also at a loss for words.


    Sister Gracia who was still helping Marie to recover appeared to have some idea about what was happening. ''Does this young man possess the seed of a primordial authority?'' She thought.


    Even though she was part of a Holy Church, she wasn''t informed about the specific details but she was told that the people who possessed the seed of a primordial authority were special and that she would be able to identify them as soon she met one.


    At first, she thought the instructions that she received were too vague but when she saw Adam''s action, she understood why specific instructions couldn''t be given, after all, the events that just urred couldn''t be described in simple words.


    ''It was said thatdy Marie had such potential but it was still yet to be awakened and she was meant to be an apprentice of the Holy Mother but she decided to abandon this honor and ran away with this man and grew older, yet she didn''t show any sign of awakening her potential, which made the Holy Mother lose interest in her.'' Garcia thought, looking at Juliu who had a dumbfounded look on her face.


    ''However, the Holy Mother secretly decided thatdy Marie should be monitored because a primordial authority was just too valuable, and fortunately we came here, thinking that her child might have inherited the seed of a primordial authority.'' She concluded. ''I can''t believe that I might be witnessing the birth of such an important individual.''


    Gracia was genuinely honored to be able to witness the power of God''s child.


    *****


    Julius was not far from Marie and Gracia and his emotions were written all over his face.


    ''Is that Adam?'' He asked himself, doubting his senses.


    He always cared about his wife and son more than anything else so he always did everything within his power to protect them, and during thest 15 years, Adam was never exposed to any danger and grew up in a safe environment.<sub> </sub>


    Julius knew what strength meant in this world but he couldn''t afford to lose his son to some bunch of despicable monsters under his watch.


    However, the young man who was still floating in the air was on a whole different level than an average teenager and even in his dream, he would never have imagined that his son hide something this big.


    After all, Adam looked like apletely different person and the execution of his attacks was wless, showing no hint of hesitation as if everything was going the way he wished it and no one could stop him.


    Julius was afraid that Adam would changepletely and be a different person than he used to be. He thought that he would try seriously to conquer the Empire because the person who was floating in front of him gave the impression that such a thing would be simple for him to aplish.


    "Adam¡­" Julius muttered with a worried voice.


    *****


    Among all of these people, there was one particr person who saw things differently.


    Her name was Amelia Li Tylliard


    She was one of the girls that talked with Adam but quickly lost interest in him because after assessing him with her particr gift, she deemed that Adam was average.


    But during the whole ughtering scene, her impression of him changed as she was watching him through her special eyes and witnessed the drastic change that was happening with him.


    Her particr gift rted to her eyes which let her see and witness things that normal people were not able to see.


    It was at the same time a blessing and a curse for her because no one knew about the things that she could see, and even if she tried to exin them, people couldn''t understand her. The things that she witnessed with her crystal purple eyes were something beyond humanprehension and even she didn''t understand the meaning behind them. For example, she could see the aura of a person which allowed her to gauge a person''s strength as soon as she see them. It was a very mysterious ability.


    However, what Amelia saw when she looked at the floating young man in front of him gave her goosebumps all over her body, to the point that she couldn''t stand well and her breath was rough as if she was suffocated by an invisible pressure so she fell on posterior.


    From her point of view, Adam had exhibited seemingly limitless energy and the primordial particles in the surroundings were being absorbed by him even though he was just floating there. "A God!"


    All of the things that she witnessed with her eyes couldn''t even bepared to this phenomenon because It was as if she was looking at the heart of the universe, and Amelia wanted to know the truth behind Adam''s power.


    p ''What is this? Adam, what is your true identity? This can''t be¡­ From his aura alone, one thousand, even one million high-level gift holders wouldn''t be able to beat this individual.'' She thought, believing that if Adam wanted to destroy the world, he would be able to do it.</anda>


    In a way, she wasn''t wrong but she would never get the chance to ask Adam because as soon as Adamnded on the ground all of this mystical power suddenly vanished and he returned to his usual self.


    From Amelia''s point of view, the usual Adam didn''t have that much power and It was as if she was just imagining things and that the individual that she saw was just a mirage due to her fear.


    ''What''s going on? Amelia couldn''t help but be surprised yet again as she stared at Adam who fell to the ground helplessly.

 Chapter 11 The Ultimate Trump Card

    Randolph and Balista were also among the guests that were seated in the VIP section but as soon as Julius''s speech was finished, they quickly left their seats and went somewhere where they could follow what was going to happen.


    The ce that they chose was an open space at the top of a tall building which was situated near the za and there were level 6 gift holders stationed all around the ce and guarded it, so weren''t worried about some mere level 4 monsters at all and couldn''t wait to see the whole spectacle with binocrs in their hands.


    Soon, chaos spread and engulfed whole the za, and people began shouting, running after seeing monsters rushing out from a purple portal and Balista watched all that with a vicious smile on his face. He was taking pleasure in the things he saw through the lens of his binocrs, unlike Randolph who didn''t show any particr emotion.


    Their n was executed smoothly and Julius was about to lose everything he cared about.


    "It''s a great sess! Hahaha, look at that face! Julius is so pitiful!" Balista said excitedly.


    "Mmm. Finally, they get what they deserve for their betrayal." Randolph said with an indifferent tone.


    "This is so satisfying to watch! Look at that brat." Balista sneered while watching Adam who copsed on the ground.


    These two people, Randolph and Balista, had their reason for doing this.


    Randolph was at a time a secret admirer of Marie but he didn''t dare to tell her about his true feelings because Marie was supposed to be a Saint. But one day, he heard that Marie ran away with Julius so he thought that Julius forced his hand on her and that made him enraged. However, the reality proved that he was wrong and that Marie also loved Julius which was a fact that he couldn''t tolerate.


    He felt betrayed and he wanted to break them apart but he was also afraid of the Empire. But as he was getting older, he decided that the time of his revenge was now or never since he was given the perfect opportunity to do so.


    As for Balista, he was only a Lord because he inherited his father''s title and he was on the verge of being demoted. He was selfish and was always jealous of Kepalta''s wealth so he was happy when someone from the empire said that they want to help him take possession of Juliu''s territory.


    ''I should take care of this human garbage too.'' Randolph thought, looking at the ugly man next to him.


    Shortly after that, a second portal opened and the situation looked dire but Balista and Randolph had a look of satisfaction on their face as they watched the whole scene through the binocrs.


    But when they thought that everything proceeded as nned, something they didn''t expect urred.


    "What the hell is this kid? D*amn it, how did he be so powerful all of sudden? This does not any sense." Balista began to panic as soon as he saw Adam ughtering the monsters.


    "Mmmmm¡­." Randolph didn''t say anything but he grumbled annoyingly.


    The two of them were feeling impatient after seeing that Marie was being healed by someone from the Holy Church and Adam''s demonstration of power.


    Unfortunately for them, their n had failed and it didn''t even take fifteen minutes for Adam to close the portal.


    They were at a loss of words after witnessing the annihtion of almost four hundred level 4 monsters, especially Balista who spent a lot of resources to get his hands on these two high-level artifacts. He nned to make this a part of his territory after Julius died and he counted on Randolph who was a quite influential noble in the Empire to achieve that.


    Neither of them expected that Adam could also close the portals.


    "Tch¡­" Randolph who appeared to be indifferent clicked his tongue and for the first, since he came to this, he looked vexed.


    "W-what should we do?" Balista panicked and the smile on his face vanishedpletely.


    They underestimated Adam''s power and thought that the poison will be enough to kill him.


    "We can''t afford to fail. I can not be sure that they won''t find some clues leading back to us so Julius and his family must disappear today." Randolph clenched his fist.


    "But what can we do?" Balista asked.


    "Mmmm¡­. It''s inevitable. I will use that thing." Randolph narrowed his eyes then raised his hand and gestured for one guard to bring a tightly sealed package to him.


    "B-but, isn''t that thing too dangerous? The Empire will certainly make a move if this thing were to be used here. And how can we even bring it to the za? People will be suspicious if we sent someone there." Balista said, looking a little pale after he heard Randolph''s words.<sub> </sub>


    "..." Randolph ignored the panicking Balista and opened the seals on the package then a thick miasma came out of the artifact that was sealed inside of it.


    This was his ultimate trump card. An artifact that could summon level 6 monsters because the bigger the portal was, the bigger the monsters that came out of it and bigger monsters equal stronger monsters.


    Randolph took the stone with his bare hand and he turned around to face the za.


    After that, he took a step back and held the stone with both of his hands as if he was holding a rugby ball, then dashed forward and used his level 7 wind elemental power to throw the stone in the direction of the za.


    ''This Randolph guy is crazy¡­'' Balista thought, knowing that holding such an ominous artifact could absorb all of the primordial particles inside of a person''s body and cause them to age unnaturally if they weren''t strong enough.


    ****


    In the area around the za, people were relieved to see that the threat was eradicated and they were slowly regaining their calm and helping the injured persons.


    Adam and Marie''s lives were also not a risk because sister Gracia was healing Marie and Adam neutralized the poison inside his body, giving some relief to Julius who had almost lost his mind a while ago.


    After thinking about his family, Julius looked around the za and saw that the monsters had injured a lot of people and killed a considerable number of soldiers and civilians.


    The whole ceremony turned into a disaster and even though Adam saved the day, he was now barely conscious.


    Then he looked at Marie again. ''Why does she have to go through this? She is a very good-hearted person and she is valiant and thoughtful.'' He thought. ''Unforgivable, these people shall face judgment and punishment.''


    Julius vowed to himself that he would do everything within his power and even beyond that to find out the people who conspired behind all of that tragedy.


    This was supposed to be a joyous asion for him and his family but now the smile on his face hadpletely vanished.


    "Don''t let anyone leave the capital! Everyone shall be inspected and those who refuse are to be executed without any exception! This is an order!"Julius shouted, orderingplete istion of the whole capital of Kepalta and a throughout inspection until the perpetrators of this vicious crime were found.


    The head of defense Delio, the head of the Royal Knights Sylvestre, and also the head of the Shadow Corps Brad immediately took action as soon as they received these orders.


    These three were also angered by this situation and wouldn''t be satisfied until adequate punishment was given to the despicable culprits who used such an underhanded tactic to attack their Lord and his family.


    "Please take care of him," Julius said, looking at Adam and the other injured people being carried away to a more suitable environment for them to recover.


    Boom!!


    "Huh??!!


    Unfortunately, a ck ominous stone impacted the ground a little bit away from the edifice and almost everyone''splexion turned pale after seeing what followed the impact


    Because when people thought everything was over, a portal appeared and this time the color was pitch ck and a sinister emanated from it.


    Then a hand bigger than a young human appeared from it and followed by the appearance of a fifteen-meter tall humanoid monster holding a ck war hammer and wearing ragged ck armor.


    Those who were knowledgeable knew that it was a level 6 minotaur because, in this universe, the name minotaur referred to a fifteen meters tall giant monster.


    Julius did not know who was behind all of this but after seeing this third portal, their intentions were at least clear to him. These people didn''t intend to let him or his family live and they would do anything to achieve this goal even doing something as extreme as summoning a level 6 monster.


    ''Why are they willing to go this far?'' Julius couldn''t help but wonder about the reason that pushed these people to target him and his family.

 Chapter 12 Minotaur

    The appearance of the fifteen meters tall minotaur appalled Julius and every person present around the za because the difference in strength between a level 4 monster and a level 6 was like heaven and earth.


    After all, some books said that a level 6 monster could destroy a country by itself if left alone and even a fool could understand that the minotaur was a walking cmity just by looking at it.


    Furthermore, a crowd of level 4 monsters which consisted of a group of wolves, goblins, and also huge snakes followed it.


    "Evacuate this ce!!" Julius shouted with all of his might and waved his hand to order all of the civilians to run away.


    Without taking into ount the other monster, the minotaur alone was a very tough opponent since it could control darkness one of the primordial elements, and also because consideration of their body consisted of primordial particles.


    Moreover, dark particles could absorb the other particles in the area and because of that, a ck miasmaing from the minotaur began to spread around the za.


    "Ruuun!"


    Someone shouted in despair and soon chaos engulfed the whole area once again.


    Even Brad, Gelio, and Sylvestre who were nning to leave and perform their tasks returned near Julius as fast as possible.


    "Roaaarrrrr!"


    The minotaur''s roar made the ground quiver violently and those who were weak instantly passed out due to the ominous sound.


    "Protect the Lords!"


    At that moment, thousands of soldiers arrived because Gordon called them over a few moments before Adam eliminated the level 4 monsters by himself.


    But even for these thousands of soldiers along with the Royal Knights and the Shadow corp, a monster that could use darkness elemental power at such a level was a tough opponent because more than two level 8 gift holders were needed during the subjugation of high-level monsters if the task needed to be taken care of quickly and with minimum casualties.


    Only a high-level Lord from the Empire could send such people and Julius, a Level 5 lord, was already lucky enough to have multiple level 7 gift holders under him.


    Boom, boom, boom!


    The minotaur hit the ground with its giant war hammer as if it was annoyed by the flies that appeared around him.


    The attack created a huge shockwave that sent hundreds of soldiers flying and crashing into the walls and the ground.


    "Roaaaarr!"


    It didn''t care about the things that it crushed with its hammer, monsters, or people, and just destroyed everything around it, showing off its strength and asserting its dominance.


    "Roooar!"


    Seeing people running and walking, it got more aggravated and threw the huge debris that fell on the ground at them.


    "Protect the civilians!"


    "Use your power to defend against its attack!"


    The people like Sylvestre, Brad, and the othermander issued orders to attack and defend.


    "Now focus your attack on its head!"


    They tried to defend against the monsters'' attack and also fight back with everything they had but the situation wasn''t looking good.


    The efficiency, the destructive power, and the uracy of their attacks were greatly reduced because of the minotaur''s power and its area of effect.


    Moreover, the minotaur didn''t even need to use an elemental attack because its brute strength alone was already phenomenal and with the darkness elemental power added to that, some soldiers couldn''t even use their power to protect themselves and were crushed like mere bugs.


    "This isn''t good!" Sylvester stated the obvious with a pale face after he witnessed what was happening.


    The wolves and goblins were one thing but this minotaur, he was sure that his attack wouldn''t inflict any damage to it because he felt that his power and mobility were reduced when he was near the minotaur.


    Sylvestre wasn''t the only one who was horrified by the minotaur''s level of strength because among the people that were present there, even Brad who was a darkness elemental gift holder couldn''te closer to the monster, knowing that he will be reduced to a mist of his blood if he did.


    "Roaarrr!"


    The minotaur continued its onught and the soldiers tried their best to slow it down but their efforts were in vain.


    Boom! Boom!


    Cannons that used the power of mana stone were used to attack the minotaur but the ck miasma that surrounded it greatly reduced the destructive power of the impact.


    "This can''t be happening!"


    "What the hell is this? We are dead!!"


    "R-run¡­ I am out of here! I don''t want to die!"


    Some of the soldiers began to feel an intense fear creeping up inside of them and there were even those who chickened out and ran away from the battlefield, knowing that they wouldn''t make it out alive if they stayed.


    *****


    In the middle of this turmoil, a man walked forward.<sub> </sub>


    "Marcel¡­?"


    Garcia muttered, looking at Marcel who walked toward the minotaur but she quickly understood what he was about to do.


    Marcel put his hand together in front of his chest as if he was praying then widened the gap between them and a ball of light appeared, taking the shape of a cross.


    Then he raised his hands in the air and the beam of light which had the form of a cross floated above him and absorbed more light particles in the surrounding until it so grew sorge and almost reached the size of the minotaur.


    "..."


    Exhaustion began to appear on Marcel''s face but he didn''t utter a word. The creation of this enormous cross of light took a toll on him.


    After that, Marcel waved his hand towards the minotaur and the cross of light instantly moved forward at a speed that didn''t match its size and hit the minotaur who was a little farther from him in the chest, creating a huge blinding explosion.


    Boom!


    The minotaur was pushed back and fell backward.


    It lost its bnce and the huge war hammer didn''t help.


    "Graaaaaah!"


    It seemed like Marcel''s attack was able to inflict significant damage to the minotaur, unlike the soldiers'' attack.


    After seeing this the soldiers who were trying to slow down the minotaur stood surprised.


    "Who is that person?"


    "Such a powerful attack."


    "Is he a member of the Holy Church?"


    The appearance of such a powerful ally was fortunate considering the circumstances.


    "Oooooh!!"


    They cheered, despite their curiosity about their identity of Marcel.


    Marcel''s attack was epic, and he managed to take down such a monster with a single hit.


    "We can do this!"


    "Finish it when it is still down!"


    The cheers of the soldiers engulfed the whole za and the demoralizing atmosphere improved a bit.


    The soldiers began to eliminate the level 4 monsters and held their positions, believing that with Marcel around, they could manage to eliminate the minotaur.


    But little did these soldiers know that Marcel had already used most of his stamina because the light elemental particles in the area were also affected by the monster''s power so it was hard to generate such arge-scale attack.


    Marcel was not a level 8 level gift holder yet and the minotaur''s power was the worst match-up with his light element so hecked the power to make decisive attacks while fighting this kind of opponent.


    That was why, if hisst attack didn''t work then the situation will take a nasty turn.


    And Marcel''s fear was confirmed when the monsters roared yet again but this time in a more enraged tone.


    "Roaaaaaaaarrrr!"


    The minotaur put its strength in his hands and legs then stood back on his feet ground and picked up his war hammer which fell from his hand.


    The soldiers'' faces turned white again when they realized that the minotaur didn''t take that much damage.


    They clenched their teeth and held their weapons tightly, knowing that the rampage was about to continue.


    As if looking at Marcel, the minotaur pointed his war Hammer toward the direction where he stood because the minotaur was not against the idea of fighting a strong opponent.


    After all, the world of monsters was ruled by the strong, and fighting was like a pass time for them.


    "Roar!"


    Then, the minotaur began to run forward in the direction that he pointed with his hammer.


    ''This is bad¡­'' Gracia thought after seeing the giant monster running in her direction.


    Marie was affected by the venom of the wolf monsters that bit her and if she wasn''t healedpletely without dy, the venom and her blood loss could kill a giftless person like her in a matter of minutes.


    It was a miracle that a person like Gracia was present there when the disaster urred and the healing process was very delicate because Gracia had to restore Marie''s damaged organs and also expulse the venom from her bodypletely, so if she was interrupted even a minute, the venom would have reached Marie''s heart.


    Julius stood in front of Marie and Gracia but he couldn''t do anything much about the situation.


    A miracle had already happened so there was a slim chance for a second to ur.

 Chapter 13 Fragments Of...

    When the minotaur was rampaging around the za, Adam who was barely conscious was being carried to a safe ce but before he could be brought into a room, the shockwave created by the monster''s attack made the ground quiver violently and Adam fell violently.


    Thud!


    Adam''s head mmed on the ground but it was not the cause of his loss of consciousness.


    He was still breathing but something odd happened inside of his body and soul without anyone noticing so he wasn''t even aware that a minotaur had appeared.


    ''Huh? where am I?'' Adam thought, seeing the vague forms of lights dancing in his field of view but even though he wanted to move, he couldn''t feel his body.


    Then, his sense of sight cleared little by little, revealing a scenery that didn''t make any sense at all because if it did, then it would mean that he died for the second time.


    ''Is this heaven?'' He thought, feeling like he was drifting in an infinite dark space where the sense of time was vague and everything around him was painted with astonishing hues that appeared to be moving slowly, but at the same time, looked like the aftereffects of metaphysical bodies that moved faster than the speed of light.


    Countless dots of lights covered this virtually mystic scenery and near Adam, two of such spheres of light were glowing brightly while the other ones seemed to be millions of kilometers away.


    ''What are those? Do I have to choose one?'' He wondered, looking around in that he could find more clues but he was already seeing his surrounding from every angle possible, so there was nothing else to look at apart from an empty space.


    ''Well, it doesn''t seem like something will happen if I don''t choose one of these.'' Adam thought and decided to approach one of the spheres of light because nothing happened no matter how long he waited.


    He even tried to move from where he was but it seemed like he always ended up in the same ce.


    He didn''t even know if he was moving or he was just thinking that he was moving.


    Thus, he touched one of the balls of light and as if Adam was being sucked inside of it, the scenery that appeared in his field of vision changed into pure white.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    ''There are too many weird urrences happening today...'' I thought because I hesitated to choose if what I saw was real or a dream. ''What the hell is going on? Not long ago, I felt someone was controlling my body and now I am suddenly looking at a scene that looks like a dream but feels too real to be one.''


    All of that happened I approached one of the spheres of lights, causing something extremely bizarre to ur.


    At first, the mystical space changed into pure white space but then realistic images appeared little by little as if someone painted over the white background. ''This has to be a dream, right?''


    The scenes that shed in front of me were extremely strange because it was as if I was watching a movie in 3D, but even thatparison was inurate since what I experienced was beyond that, feeling everything as if I was there myself.


    Moreover, I was not looking at random things but a particr guy.


    "Eva, do you want to have lunch with me today? Just look at these, I spent three hours preparing them." A naive-looking guy said, showing the jar containing dried fruits that he held in his hand, and next to him, there was a bag full of other foods and utensils as if he was preparing to go on a pic.


    "I am busy today, and I keep telling you that I am not interested." A woman who had reddish-brown hair and wore a particr set of armor replied promptly.


    I admit that she was very beautiful but her stubbornness and strong character could also be seen in her expressions because she didn''t even spare a nce at the na?ve-looking young man and continued to walk away after she said these words.


    "I guess I failed again, hehe." The guyughed wryly after seeing the woman''s reaction and scratched the back of his head.


    "What am I going to do with all of these?" He said, looking at all of the food that he prepared.


    Looking at him, I felt like it was not the first time this guy tried to earn the favor of that woman called Eva but all of his attempts seemed to have failed.


    I couldn''t help but feel a little bad for him because I could somehow rte to what just happened.


    ''Why am I seeing this though?'' I thought


    but before I could understand what was going on, the scenery that I saw in my field of view changed into pure white again.


    Then I heard the voice of numerous people shouting and cheering.


    "Hail the Hero!"


    "He is our savior!"


    "He is a reincarnation of a God!"


    Images began to appear in my field of view again.


    This time, there was a huge crowd and in the middle of it, there was a man, the guy that I saw earlier, wearing silver armor and having a sword attached to his hips.


    He was scratching the back of his head embarrassingly again as he made his way through the crowd.


    ''What happened, how did he be so popr?'' I thought, looking at the guy who lookedpletely different from before


    After he made his way past the crowd, he entered a majestic-looking building and approached Eva, the red-haired girl.<sub> </sub>


    "Eva, did you see that? People are treating me differently now. It seems like my hard work paid off." He said with a smile on his face and I kind of felt bad for him. Maybe it was only my opinion, but I felt like he was bad atmunicating with Eva.


    "Yeah, I''m happy for you," Eva replied, still looking indifferent but her tone sounded a little bit gentler than before.


    "And, you know, ah, I, I was thinking about the fact that we didn''t have much time to resttely, so, you know, if you would like to, how about the two of us go eat somethingter?" The guy answered. He fidgeted while saying these words and I was the one who felt embarrassed looking at him.


    "¡­I''ll think about it," Eva said, turning around and leaving without stopping.


    ''She is a tough one...'' I thought, looking at her but she was my type. It seemed that at least the guy had good taste in women.


    As soon as Eva''s silhouette vanished from the scenery, the guy''s face beamed with excitement and happiness.


    "Finally, finally she said something she''ll think about it. I am d that I saved a lot of money for the sake of this day." He said, and I somehow understand how he felt as if I was in his ce. I could tell that the guy loved Eva.


    ''Thought, it will hurt if she treats you as a friend, in the end, man...'' I thought, recalling my experiences with women.


    After that, the hero dashed somewhere and the scenery turned white again.


    ''Is this some kind of vision or prophecy? Or am I seeing something that is happening somewhere in a different universe? Still, I am clueless about the reason why it''s happening...'' I thought, deciding to look for clues.


    I also felt like I was in this ce for a long time but somehow it shouldn''t be that long.


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    While Adam fell unconscious, two people were watching what was happening on the za from the top of a certain building far from the za.


    "Th-this is a level 6 monster?" Balista said, with a slightly trembling voice. He had never seen such a monster in his life and so he gasped at the sight of the minotaur. "But still, what are we going to do now?" Balista added and looked at the man who stood next to him.


    "We are finished here. Let''s move out of this," replied Randolph with an indifferent tone. It seemed like he regained his calm and was satisfied after the appearance of the minotaur.


    With this monster, Kepalta would be destroyed before someone from the Empire arrived to take care of the portal and the minotaur, or so he thought.


    Randolph turned around and thought about leaving while Balista looked like he was still confused.


    ''What about my rpense in all of this?'' Balista thought, following Randolph from behind, because Randolph''s goal was already more or less achieved but his reward was not even part of the discussion most of the time. ''Am I being sidelined by this guy?''


    <o>,m He had worked hard to obtain these two high-level artifacts because Randolph said that he was too involved with Empire to do so.</o>


    However, Randolph had that ck stone with him which meant that he could achieve his revenge even without him, and when Balist realized that, an rming thought crossed his mind.


    Balista was stupid but he was not aplete moron so he managed to connect the dots. ''This guy, he didn''t n to let me have anything in the first ce. He intended to me everything on me after all of this ends,'' he concluded.


    It all made sense when he thought about what was happening from that and je understood what was going on.


    "Randolph, you bastard, how dare you to try to frame me?" Balista shouted.


    He was a level 5 gift holder but he wasn''t afraid of Randolph who appeared to be a coward and weak since he couldn''t forget about a single woman.


    Then, he took a battle stance and was about to use his fire elemental gift.


    "Mmm? You only realize that now? As I thought, you were perfect for this job¡­ Now you need to finish your work." Randolph said but he didn''t even move an eyebrow when he saw Balista trying to intimidate him.


    "You bastard!" Balista roared and dashed forward. His fists were covered by crimson mes and he was thinking about incinerating Randolph with one attack.


    "Hmph! Die, you insignificant bug! Do you think that you are worth more than Julius or anyone else? You are just a dirty bug who only knows how to make annoying sounds." Randolph said then raised his right hand and shed down vertically, creating a wind pressure that hit Ballista in the middle of his face and sliced him into two.


    Thud!


    Randolph was a level 7 gift holder and was as strong as Marcel so Balista didn''t even stand a chance.


    "Now my implications in all of this will be buried here with you," Randolph said, and he didn''t even have an ounce of remorse while seeing the disgusting waste that Balista had be.


    Randolph just turned around and made his way to the entrance.


    But it was at that time when something unexpected urred.


    "I didn''t expect someone from the Empire to be involved in this." A cold and yet attractive voice came from behind and Randolph quickly turned around.


    "Y-you are.."

 Chapter 14 ...Pain

    The sound of the minotaur''s roar mixed with soldiers'' cries echoed throughout the whole city of Kepalta and chaos spread.


    The streets overflowed with people who were trying to evacuate to safer ces but one person was focused on apletely different issue.


    ''Why is she here? Why is Liu, the Frost Queen here?'' Randolph thought, looking at the person who appeared in front of him.


    Just by hearing Liu''s name and her title, many people who were knowledgeable about the bnce of power shivered uncontrobly in fear because they underestimated her and had paid the hard price.


    Also, the Frost Queen was a member of the faction called ''Heavenly White Lotus'' which was an influential faction in the Empire because its current head is one of the few people who hold the title of Guardian.


    The member of this n was distinct because of their outfits which were quite eye-catching so Randolph concluded that the person in front of him was unmistakably the frost queen.


    Her red distinct dress adorned with gold lotus patterns emphasized her perfectly proportioned body, delicate arms, lovely thighs, and long slender legs and entuated her ephemeral pale skin, long ck hair, and her gorgeous wless face.


    However, her crystal blue eyes were cold as ice and there was no hint of emotion expressed on her face.


    ''How long has this woman been there?''


    Randolph asked himself, understanding what was going to happen to him if he couldn''t find a way to exin this situation to this person.


    He needed to find a way to convince Liu that he was there to eliminate a traitor and that he had nothing to do with the minotaur as he nned but for that to work, Randolph needed to know when Liu arrived and how long had she been watching.


    After all, he said many things that he couldn''t take back.


    ''This is bad!'' Randolph thought, knowing that he was screwed if this person saw everything, and fighting her was not an option because even if there were ten thousand of him, Liu would crush them all like bugs.


    Randolph need to choose his words wisely and even though he noticed something weird about the Frost Queen he didn''t dare to make anyment about it. He was afraid that he will offend this Liu and get instantly crushed.


    "Miss Liu, why are you here?" Randolph asked with an almost fading voice while sweating nervously.


    "¡­"


    The beautiful frost queen didn''t even spare a nce at Randolph and turned toward the direction of the za.


    Suddenly, something disrupted the intense atmosphere.


    "Gugu.." It was a baby''s voice


    There was an infant on top of Liu''s head but Randolph didn''t dare to say anything about it.


    The baby was plump and had green hairs tied into buns but for some reason, her hands and feet were wrapped around Liu''s head from behind as she bit onto it.


    There were drools left on Liu''s beautiful ck hair but she looked like she gave up trying to get the baby off of her head.


    Thisbination was indeed bizarre and Randolph was curious about the reason why this Liu had a chubby-looking baby on her head but he didn''t ask about such a thing.


    After a moment of silence, Liu answered Randolph''s question with another question.


    "You are aware of the consequences of your actions, right?" Liu asked without facing Randolph but


    this one sentence sealed Randolph''s fate and sent shivers down his spine.


    "D*amn it!" Randolph swore and tried to use his power to run away by jumping off of the building.


    He couldn''t even dream about winning against the frost queen but at least he thought that he had a higher chance of survival if he ran away as fast as he could and without looking back.


    But before Randolph could even move, the atmosphere and all of the area on top of the building froze and the temperature dropped down far below zero.


    Randolph didn''t even have the time to use his power and died frozen with an ugly expression on his face


    His frozen body could be seen through the thick block of ice that covered his body and white particles floating all over the building''s top as if it was snowing.


    Liu just stood there as if she was in a daze, watching the minotaur going on a rampage, then the baby on top of her extended her hands towards the za and Liu reacted a bit.


    "The holy church..." Liu muttered quietly, and white fog escaped from her mouth.


    She saw a huge cross of light striking the minotaur in the chest and also felt the existence of Marcel and Gracia.


    "But why do you want toe here?" Liu asked but no one was there with her so her question seemed to be directed at the baby on top of her head.


    "Baba...?" The baby''s words were still iprehensible.


    "Well, let''s do something about this first¡­"  Liu didn''t expect the baby to talk but she somehow understood the baby''s emotions.


    She also knew that Marcel wouldn''t be able to beat the minotaur so she jumped off the building and dashed toward the za.


    Her power allowed her to control particles that let her stand in mind air and also move around as if she was flying.


    The reason why a powerful person such as her hade to this remote and why she had a baby on top of her head was a mystery<sub> </sub>


    and when all of these events were happening, Adam was still in the mystical world and was not still aware of what happened on the za.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    Time felt like it flowed slowly and I didn''t know how long I have been watching the scenes that appeared in my field of view but I was still inside this dream-like world and I was still following the story of a naive-looking guy.


    At first, I thought that I will witness some kind of romance story but the fate of the hero was something that I didn''t expect.


    "Kill the traitor!"


    "He deserves to die!"


    "How dare he betray the people who trusted him. He is despicable."


    "I understand whydy Eva didn''t even give a nce at this man, she probably felt his ulterior motives."


    The story had taken a dark turn and I wasn''t shown the reason why it happened..


    The guy who was popr and loved by all was now being persecuted by the crowd as he kneeled in front of them and next to him, a man was holding a huge sword and wearing a grim-looking mask.


    ''Why is this happening?'' I thought.


    The hero was ced in the center of the stage which was situated inside of a structure that looked like a coliseum and millions of people were there to witness the end of his adventure.


    The hatred and contempt that the people who were present there at that moment was apparent and they were directed solely at this hero.


    ''Seriously, what the hell happened?'' I thought as the suffocating atmosphere made me feel like I was present kneeling beside the guy.


    "Eva, why? Why did you do that?" The guy muttered under his breath as he looked like he was in his final moments. His face was devoid of human emotions, his mouth was dry, and countless deep wounds covered his naked upper body.


    I could see that he was extremely confused and dumbfounded and I didn''t know the reason but it looked like he was feeling betrayed by the woman he loved so his heart became cold as a stone and he no longer cared about anything.


    The only thing that he wanted to know was the reason why Eva who was looking at him without even an ounce of remorse on her face as he was about to be killed had betrayed him, considering all of the things that he did for her.


    ''¡­''


    I didn''t know what to think or to feel about it.


    It was painful and my entire existence would have screamed in pain if I was in the shoes of this guy.


    As I observed this guy, I realized he was a very simple, straightforward, and kind man but this betrayal broke him.


    I could feel something dark growing inside of him as he thought about Eva.


    I wanted to help him because I saw him genuinely working to improve himself to impress the woman he loved and to be able to protect her.


    He poured all of his heart to get a singlepliment from Eva and he trained day and night without rest to not disappoint the people who had great expectations of him.


    In the end, this was the rpense for his hard work and devotion.


    Only death and persecution awaited him and the woman he loved looked at him as if he was a piece of trash.


    My heart ached because somehow I could rte to this man''s situation and I realized that what I experienced in my previous life was a hundred times better than this


    I didn''t even know if all of this was real or just an illusion but I felt his pain and I was angry.


    At that moment I wanted revenge but...


    "It''s too soon for you to go any further."


    ...A voice echoed unnaturally from somewhere and suddenly the scene in front of me disappeared so I couldn''t witness what happened to the hero at the end.


    Then I turned around and I saw a silhouette that looked just like me but enveloped in a bright golden color.


    Everything about him had a golden shade and it was as if he was a moving golden statute.


    "Look! This fellow shouldn''t take control of the main body so you need to go back now."


    He said, pointing at the second ball of light.


    This sphere of light also tried to take the shape of my body and tried to take my appearance.


    "Who are you?" I asked.

 Chapter 15 Pride (Part 2)

    The mystical ce alone was already mysterious or begin with but then there was a sort of dream.


    ''What else should I expect?'' I thought, looking at the entity in front of me.


    Honestly, I was I couldn''t understand what was happening to me. ''How other people will act if they were in this situation?'' I thought.


    "Are you the one who controlled my body, earlier?"


    I said.  I wasn''t even sure if I was hallucinating but I was trying to collect some more information.


    "I did take control of the body which was something I shouldn''t have done but there wasn''t any other way, was there?" The entity answered which was something I didn''t expect, knowing that he had a face simr to mine.


    "Well, thanks for saving me there but I hope you won''t do that anymore in the future," I said, feeling like I had already learned from that mistake and didn''t intend to let happen again.


    "That was something that shouldn''t have happened in the first ce and if this continues, you will need to continue this journey alone from here." The entity said.


    "What? You were there all of this time? You should have at least said something. It was extremely ufortable to have my body taken like that." I said.


    "I am Pride and I came into existence with you when you first appeared in this world." Pride continued in a confident and noble voice, not showing any sign of surprise or nervousness. He was calm andposed, exhibiting an aura of confidence and authority.


    ''What is this guy talking about? He was there with me? But couldn''t I feel his presence all of this time, is he some sort of God?'' I thought, trying to understand the situation after hearing Pride''s words.


    In any case, it must be rted to the reason why I was transported inside of this mystical ce in the first ce.


    "It''s gone." Pride said at the ce where the silver sphere of light was.


    "Ah, where did it go? And what are these two other spheres of light anyway?" I ask, remembering what happened when I touched one of me.


    "Let me tell you one thing. During these fifteen years, the fact that you didn''t notice my presence was something of an absolute necessity."


    "What? Why? Are you trying to hide or something? But even so, why are you hiding inside of me." I asked, and when he mentioned his presence, I began to understand why I felt like there were vague details of events that I couldn''t remember. "So you are the one who caused the gaps in my memories?"


    "Think about this. The information you acquired from the books you read wasn''t something that you can just process easily in a short amount of time even if you are intelligent because you need an astronomical processing ability to process all of the information from all of these millions of books. However, you did that in just 5 years or so. Does that answer your question?"


    "You helped me with that? Well, thanks but that didn''t answer the question." I said, but when I thought about what Pride said, I understood that sometimes he took control of my body without me noticing.


    However, he had a point and even if I was incredibly intelligent it still would take time topletely understand this information and understand how this world the way I did.


    "But are you a kind of God or something like that?" I continued asking.


    "That''s not the case." Pride answered.<sub> </sub>


    "¡­Okay, so what are you?" I asked.


    "You don''t need to know."


    "Hey, this situation is already frustrating so at least give me a reason to not consider you as my enemy," I said.


    "I was always there with you. Otherwise, you would have already gone somewhere on your own and died."  Pride said with his usual tone.


    "I am not that stupid," I said, feeling like Pride was somehow making of me.


    "I can read your mind¡­."


    I was interrupted in the middle of my train of thought, and I was extremely shocked.


    "...We share the same memory so I know everything about your past. You don''t know about me because I used our power to alter some of these memories so that you don''t identally help the other to take control of the body," Pride answered with his usual tone, as he continued with his exnations.


    The more I listened to him the more I got confused and surprised at the same time.


    "The others? What the hell? How many of you are here?" I asked, thinking about the possibility that I had split personalities.


    "It''s not what you think it is. In reality, you should be the only one who can control the body but as you experienced, we can also take control under some special circumstances but such an attemptes with consequences. It can even destroy your soul."


    "What? You seriously should have at least told me about these things," I said.


    "That''s not how it works. Also, I won''t be able to give a hand again because I have used all of the particles that our body had umted during these fifteen years to temporarily create new abilities..." Pride exined, then he pointed at the ce where one of the spheres of light was.


    "I named him Judgment. Unlike me, he can only destroy things


    so you need to regain your consciousness before Judgement destroys the whole."


    There were a lot of things that surprised me since I came to this world but what Pride said was something else.


    "New abilities? Wai-"


    I couldn''t finish my sentence because my mind ached and I felt like I was going to throw up.


    The scenery in front of me began to fade away and before I knew it, my eyes opened as if I just woke up from a bad dream.

 Chapter 16 The Frost Queen

    :::[Third person POV]:::


    While Adam was still unconscious, a fifteen meters minotaur was sprinting toward Marcel, Julius, and Gracia who was still healing Marie.


    If it wasn''t stopped immediately, then the whole edifice would be destroyed and the casualties would be unfathomable.


    Boom! boom!


    The heavy footsteps of the minotaur shook the ground and trampled everything in his way whether it was the despicable monsters or the soldiers who were fighting them.


    "Move aside!" A soldier shouted and moved away from the minotaur''s path to save his life, but those who were unfortunate got crushed and turned into something grotesque.


    However, there were still people who tried to stand against the enraged beast.


    One of them was Sylvestre. He gripped the handle of his sword tightly with both hands and put strength in his leg and using his lighting elemental power to kick the ground,  leaped forward.


    Swoosh!


    He had a slight look of fear on his face, but he swallowed. It was for him to feel that way because even if he was a veteran soldier, he never faced a fifteen meters tall minotaur.


    Sylvestre gathered lighting around his body and when he was surrounded by a glittering kic lighting field, he used his sword as a catalyst to direct his most powerful lighting attack toward the running minotaur by shing down with all of his might.


    Pegasus strike!" with a face full of determination he shouted.


    Boom!


    Sylvestre''s attack hit a running minotaur but this one shielded himself with his war hammer and fended off the attack by swinging the hammer multiple times until the wind pressure overwhelmed the lightning.


    The shockwave created by the sh between these two forces sent hundreds of soldiers and monsters flying then created a little thunderstorm which opened a path for the minotaur, and at the same time, sent Sylvestre crashing to the ground.


    Sylvestre used all of his remaining strength in that attack but the minotaur was too strong so he almost died if Brad didn''t catch him before he crashed violently to the ground.


    "Roaaaar!"


    The minotaur roared and used the momentum of his speed to jump in the air.


    Swoosh!


    The wind howled and the minotaur was at least twenty meters above the ground.


    The za was big enough for millions of people to gather inside so the minotaur didn''t have any problem executing such a move.


    The minotaur''s instinct told it that this attack which took advantage of the gravity would inflict more damage.


    It was not a very intelligent monster so it didn''t take into ount the fact that Marcel could attack him while it was in the air and it might have been just a monster''s instinct but at that time, Marcel''s face turned pale.


    The minotaur acted on instinct but this time the odds seemed to be against everyone who was still inside and around the edifice because Marcel ran out of strength to perform another decisive attack.


    Seeing the minotaur, the people that were present on the za had different reactions.


    Julius just stood there clenching his fist and biting his lips for there was nothing he could do and he couldn''t possibly run away and left his wife to die.


    Delio was trying to help people to evacuate but the earthquakes, the shockwaves, and the monsters made it difficult for arge number of people to run.


    Gracia had a conflicted look on her face. She didn''t have any reason to die in this ce and Marie wasn''t that important to the Holy Church in the first ce. It was that she admired Marie when she was little and she didn''t want to see her die but now she began to have some second thoughts.


    Everyone had different kinds of thoughts as they were watching the minotaur heading down toward them and at that moment, they wished to live more than ever.


    Swoosh!


    That was when something stunning happened.


    The temperature in the surrounding suddenly dropped quickly.


    Boom!


    The minotaur mmed not on the ground but a wall of ice more than twenty meters tall.


    The wall of ice vibrated violently but it didn''t crumble even after being hit by an attack that contained the minotaur''s brute strength, its darkness elemental power, and the help of gravity.


    Everyone''s eyes widened again as if everything that happened on the same day wasn''t already shocking enough.


    "This power¡­ It can''t be!" Even Marcel who looked stoic usually had a look of surprise on his face.


    "A minotaur?" A  bewitching female voice came from the sky and everyone raised their head to look at the owner of this voice.<sub> </sub>


    To their surprise, they saw a woman wearing an alluring red dress standing without any support in the air, strangely enough, she had a chubby-looking baby hanging on top of her head.


    "Y-you are the frost queen, L-Liu Vyh Fenrirus," Marcel said in a stuttering manner. His eyes were locked on the person standing in the air.


    It was clear that no one expected a person such as the Frost Queen to be present on a remote under the jurisdiction of a mere level 5 Lord.


    Light of hope began to return in everyone''s eyes after seeing the power of this woman who was called Liu the frost queen.


    ''But why is she here?'' Marcel, Gracia, the nobles, and other persons who knew Liu''s name wondered.


    After all, Liu was described as a very aloof and cold person. She wouldn''t have traveled from the Empire to this ce unless her father ordered her to perform a task.


    In that case, this was a pure coincidence and luck was still on Adam and everyone else''s side which happened to be the case since they went through three critical situations but managed to avoid the worst oue.


    Liu didn''t pay attention to the people who looked at her and instead focused on the minotaur who had its war hammer stuck on the ice wall.


    Liu raised her finger slightly and the ice engulfed the war hammer and the minotaur along with it.


    This kind of control could only be done by a high-level gift holder who had mastered the use of their gift and could control the primordial particles at a granr level.


    Crack! Boom!


    But the minotaur broke out of the ice and jumped down to the ground.


    "Roarr!"


    It was not pleased since his attack had failed to destroy anything


    so it unleashed his darkness elemental power and the dark miasma around him got thicker.


    The ice left on its body also vanished and even the ice wall crumbled little by little.


    "Roar!" The minotaur roared again as if it was trying to tell Liu to bring it on.


    "¡­"


    Even though Liu was displeased by the monster''s taunt, no emotions showed on her impable face.


    "White lotus¡­"


    Liu raised calmly and elegantly her right hand toward the sky and then ice elemental particles gathered above her.


    "Third basic technique: Twin celestial dragons," She muttered as if trying to test something that she had learned recently.


    The ice particles above Liu''s head took the form of two dragons which looked like they were alive as they danced around in the sky.


    The people who saw these majestic dragons were left speechless and couldn''t even believe that they were alive to witness this another unbelievable scene on the same day.


    Then, Liu pointed her hand toward the minotaur and the two ice dragons rushed down with incredible speed and force, demonstrating her mastery and control of the ice elemental gift which was phenomenal.


    "Roar!" The minotaur tried to attack the dragons with its war hammer but even its dark elemental power was inferior to Liu''s ability and the dragons just dodged its attack and then circled it, making it disoriented.


    After that, the dragons wrapped around the minotaur and used their mouth to push the minotaur to the ground and froze itpletely to the bones.


    The minotaur was frozenpletely and shattered like a statue made of sses.


    The wall ice crumbled and people could see what was happening to the minotaur who looked so invincible earlier.


    "There''s no mistaking it, this person is the Frost Queen. I have already seen that technique being used by the current head of the Fenrirus family a long time ago and now his daughter who has the same elemental gift as him inherited it."


    Marcel said, bing talkative all of sudden because it looked like he admired Liu and her father, and his excitement to see Liu''s actual strength showed in his unusual behavior.


    As for Julius who was overwhelmed by everything that had happened, he finally turned around and looked at Marie. "How is she doing?" He asked Gracia.


    "I have finished removing the poison and restoring her damaged vessels. She will bepletely fine after a few days of rest." Garcia answered.


    "I can''t thank you enough for what you have done. How can I repay your kindness?"


    "Don''t mention it, I did what I had to do. The danger is still imminent because the portal is still open and monsters like the minotaur will certainlye out of it so I will contact the Empire and ask for a hunter team to be dispatched."


    Garcia said, warning Julius then walked away with Marcel to ask for help from the Empire.


    "I am indebted to you." Julius bowed to Gracia who was walking away.

 Chapter 17 Judgment

    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    Cough! cough!


    My head ached and I felt like there was something stuck in my throat.


    I just regained consciousness so I could control my body again and I didn''t know how, but when I came to my sense I was already standing at the huge door leading out to the za.


    I leaned on the wall using my hand to support myself from stumbling because like when I was in that mystical ce, I could feel pain all over my body and my legs were shaking.


    It was probably because almost all of the primordial particles in my body were all used as Pride said.


    However, I couldn''tin because it was a miracle that I could save myself and the other people.


    Boom! Boom!


    "W-what the hell is that?" I couldn''t help but doubt my eyes and ask out loud.


    "


    ''Please give me a break! For real, what the hell is happening to me?''


    I couldn''t help butin internally.


    During these fifty years, I prioritized information gathering but it wasn''t like I cked off the rest of the time.


    I trained my body and I prepared myself to fight monsters but it seemed like my efforts weren''t enough and I wasn''t imaginative enough.


    After all, I almost died poisoned but a mysterious entity took control of my body when I ran out of strength and now a minotaur was running toward me.


    ''Yes, Ick imagination.'' I thought, realizing how different this world waspared to the Earth.


    That was not all, the minotaur jumped in the air and was prepared to destroy the whole edifice.


    ''What should I now. Should I run? But my parents are still there. I need to get them out of her first.'' I thought but I couldn''t even move my leg the way I wanted it.


    I knew that I needed to calm down and think rationally but there was no time for me to calm down and process everything that happened.


    Swoosh!


    When the situation was at its critical point, something that I didn''t anticipate urred.


    Suddenly, the temperature in the atmosphere dropped and a wall of ice taller than twenty meters appeared.


    I couldn''t believe what I was witnessing.


    A gigantic wall of ice protected everyone from the minotaur''s attack.


    I looked up above and I saw a woman wearing a dress that looked like a Chinese one. I wasn''t an expert on Chinese clothes but I was surprised to see that there were people in this universe who had the same inspiration as those who created these beautiful dresses back on Earth.


    And my surprise didn''t end there. Two huge ice dragons appeared and roamed in the air then rushed toward the minotaur and froze it to death.


    I was so surprised that I unconsciously used thest ounce of strength in my body to move forward so that I could see the mysterious woman up close.


    I knew that there were powerful people in this universe and I always thought that my power was special was but at that moment,


    I realized that there was a big gap between this woman''s strength and mine.


    I was a little bit frustrated.


    ''Am I really satisfied with my current self?'' I thought.


    ''What is this feeling? Why am I so frustrated? I¡­"


    At that moment, I felt like if I was stronger, I could have protected myself,  my family, and everyone else.


    I somehow felt like I could understand why the protagonists in these webnovel stories are so power-hungry.


    ''Haha, bring it on¡­ It seems like I have something to aim for from here.'' I thought, feeling motivated and determined to not make the same mistake again by focusing on bing stronger this time.


    Swoosh!


    While I was lost in my self-reflection, the mysterious woman used her power to create a wall of ice around the portal and sealed it temporarily.


    I could use my power topletely neutralize it but at that moment, I couldn''t even move from where I stood.<sub> </sub>


    Then, a thought crossed my mind. ''Who is behind this?'' This was the most important question that I asked myself.


    "Kuuh!"


    Suddenly, a voice echoed inside of my head.


    ''Justice.''


    The voice sounded so overbearing and my mind felt heavier all of sudden.


    ''Huh? Who just talked? Is that you Pride?''


    ''Justice¡­''


    After that, my mind was assaulted by a terrible headache and I fell to my knees again.


    "Kuah! What the¡­"


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    At the same time when Adam got a terrible headache, Liu was standing in mid-air looking at the portal that she sealed with her ice elemental power.


    This was just a temporary precaution and she needed to wait for the hunter team to bring the artifact that could close the portal.


    "Sigh." Liu couldn''t help but feel a little bit disappointed. She could still see the soldiers battling the remaining monsters from above and she was surprised to see some soldiers who had the Imperial Crest on their armor but there was not a trace of what she was searching for.


    "Guguga!" The baby on top of Liu''s head moved oddly, let out weird voices, and pulled Liu''s hair.


    "What is happening to you?" Liu said, taking the baby in her hands and wondering the reason for this weird behavior.


    "Gugugugu!"


    The baby struggled violently in Liu''s arm and tried to point at something behind them.


    At first, Liu didn''t understand what the baby was trying to tell her and thought that the baby was hungry or something like that.


    And when Liu finally understood the baby''s intention, it was already toote for her to prepare her mind for what she was going to witness next.


    "!!?"


    When Liu turned around, she felt fear. An emotion that only her father could make her feel.


    And the fear that she felt at that moment was different from all of the emotions that she felt before.


    She felt scared and she waspletely at the mercy of the person in front of her.


    The person had pure white hair as if every string of his hair was made of tinum and his white clothes didn''t have a single ck spot on them.


    Two diamond-like eyes which were more beautiful than any jewelry were looking straight into Liu''s eyes and it was as if a God appeared in front of her.


    But it wasn''t his appearance that made Liu feel uncontroble fear.


    It was the aura around this godlike person.


    It was extremely pure that space itself looked like it was being purified and was breaking down.


    Cracks formed in the void surrounding the man and as if the man was standing inside of a space made of countless mirrors that continued to break apart endlessly, the space around him was distorted.


    ''Who is this person?'' Liu thought but she was frozen in ce unable to move.


    Liu held the baby tightly in her arms and she could feel that the baby also was shaken by the appearance of this entity.


    "Judgment."


    The person only said one word but everything, the sky, the ground, the space, appeared like they were on the verge of copsing.


    Cracks appeared in the space around the za which expanded and almost covered the whole city.


    The sky looked like it was made of broken mirrors and people could see the reflection of themselves everywhere they looked as if they entered a room full of mirrors.


    It was pure madness and it was just the beginning if the y person wasn''t stopped quickly.

 Chapter 18 Primordial Chaos

    "I am back here again? This is kind of worrying..." I said, looking at the familiar scenery.


    "It''s your emotional outburst and instability."


    "What? You are here too. What just happened?" I said, looking at Pride who appeared in front of me again.


    "We don''t have much time so I will take this chance to give the long version of the story. The rest depends on you..."


    Pride said.


    I didn''t know what he was talking about but I knew that it was something important.


    "I will tell you the origin of it all, so don''t interrupt me¡­"


    After that, Pride began to tell a story.


    "In ancient times, the God of Creation who created the universe and countless intelligent species was described as a kind and generous entity.


    He was always curious about humans and their way of living¡ªthe masterpiece at the peak of his creation.


    His authorities were ''Creation & Destruction'' and with these authorities, he could at the same time create realities and rewrite thew of everything that exists but also annihte and render them to nothingness.


    His power allowed him to create many things such as countless gxies, infinite space, uncountablews of nature,ws of time, as well as indescribable amounts of data and knowledge."


    ''God and his creation?'' I thought because before I got reincarnated, I didn''t give much thought to religion, heaven, or God. It was only aftering to this world that I had to consider various things.


    ''But what does it have to do with me? I mean, this story and all. My reincarnation? I should probably listen for now.''


    I wondered as so I decided to listen to the rest of Pride''s story.


    "¡­However, after existing for an unimaginable period, the universe created by the God of Creation was on the verge of being annihted by a powerful being as old as time. This being lived outside of the space-time that he created, an entity that craved more power and more knowledge, and who was called the God of Void.


    These two godly entities were in a way brothers and the authority of the God of void was the exact opposite of the essence of life, of existence, so it was called ''Anti-esse.'' An ominous power capable of even swallowing authorities and deities altogether.


    Now this being wanted to erase his brother and all of his creation.


    An act that this God of the void believed will bring him closer to the truth due to the nature of his authority.


    The God of Creation used all of his might to stop his brother, but because of his kind nature, he also understood why his brother was in such a state. He also wanted to know the truth at some point. His authority ''Destruction'' was in a way closer to the ''Anti-esse,'' but he never used it, because it was also a counterpart of authority ''Creation.''


    ''Anti-esse,'' was more powerful than ''Destruction'' if the two were to bepared since the authority was beyond the reality that ''Creation & Destruction'' could manipte.


    Even so, the God of creation couldn''t let his brother destroy everything that he created. Some of his creations were beings that lived without needing him to tell them what to do. These conscious beings, he couldn''t sacrifice them even for something like the Ultimate Truth because that was his responsibility and duty as their creator. After all, they never asked him to create them in the first ce.


    The power of ''Anti-esse'' had the potential to transcend every dimension and reach a ce that doesn''t exist and where nothing exists but is there.


    The God of void didn''t know where this ce was, but he could feel that his power wouldn''t be able to go beyond that realm.


    This ce was the final destination that the God of void wanted to reach. He believed that the questions to all of his answersy there.


    But he was unable to go there directly since his consciousness couldn''t grasp its nature so he doesn''t know what it is or where it is.


    That''s why the God of void wanted more power, more knowledge, and to find the answer to a few questions. If every dimension, every existence, everyyer, are to disappear, then what would be left beyond that? What is beyond it? Who is beyond it, and who is the one who created him? Because he knew that he and his brother were created inside that ce at the very beginning.<sub> </sub>


    He had no memory of what happened but when he began to think, he was already inside of a nk dimension known as the ''Second primordial dimension'' that came into existence.


    The God of the void contemted these questions for eons and he decided that he would find the ultimate truth. Thus, he believed that he had to erase everything that exists, such as the countless dimensions that materialized by themselves due to his brother''s authority that functioned autonomously.


    Then, he would return to the ''Second primordial dimension'' and erase it too. Finally, he thought, he would be able to witness the ultimate truth, the ''First primordial dimension.''


    However, with his authority, the God of Void considered his brother as the biggest obstacle in his way. Creation was indeed the worst matchup for Anti-esse.


    Nevertheless, he was still confident in winning, even though their battle continued for millennia after his brother sent him into a multiverse of insanity where every universe is stuck in a time loop, and even if Anti-esse is beyond all dimensions, the God of Void himself wasn''t omnipresent despite being omnipotent, thus it takes time to destroy all of these universes that keeps appearing endlessly.


    But after an incalcble period, he found another use of his power, to use it on himself.


    Normally, he would have disappeared and died, but that''s not the case in this particr case.


    If a being were to be sent to the ''First primordial dimension'' they will surely disappear since what was there, was beyond their level of existence and theirprehension, so their consciousness will stop working and they are as good as dead.


    Nheless, what if only his envelope corporal were to be sent to disappear and his soul, in other words, his consciousness will stay outside.


    That way, he will exist and won''t exist at the same time and nothing would be able to stop him. He would be an omnipresent being.


    Of course, that sounded like an ingenious idea but will be the key to his defeatter.


    The God of void seeded to get rid of his corporal envelope, but the link between his body and his consciousness was cut, and in exchange, he obtained something else, something beyond omnipresence.


    No one knew how such a thing was possible, even the most brilliant human, but it was something that only someone like the God of void could manage to do.


    Soon after that, the God of Void appeared in front of his brother, the God of Creation, and activated his final attack, but his brother did something that he didn''t expect.


    The God of creation used his power on himself too, and fused himself with the consciousness of the universe, discarded his body, and imprisoned himself in an endless time time-loop while transferring all of his power elsewhere.


    In other words, he transformed himself into a whole multiverse, that will be always stuck in a cycle of destruction and creation.


    Even if he didn''t have his power anymore, he was able to trap his brother''s consciousness inside of this prison restricting his omnipresence power.


    The battle ended in a stalemate, but it said that the God of Void is still waiting in patience for the day when he will achieve his goal."


    ''That was really long and extremely interesting. It was as if I was listening to the plot of a movie.'' I thought after listening to the story but I knew that this story was somehow rted to my reincarnation and Pride''s presence.


    After that, Pride stopped talking and looked serious then asked me some questions.


    "Do you know why is your power ''Neutral'', something between creation and destruction?"


    ''From what I have learned from Pride''s story, the God of creation transferred his power elsewhere.''  I thought.


    "I never thought about it that way, but is there a chance that it is rted to these so-called authorities?" I asked, trying to understand the connection in everything that had happened. "And it''s tough to process all of this in one go."


    "In a way, yes, but it''s moreplicated than that. You need to know and remember that first, you need to ascend to the next level of your existence before thinking about trying to aplish what you have in mind. Otherwise, you will die, and this world, this universe, and countless universes and dimensions will disappear with you..."  Pride spoke nonchntly, but what he said was tremendous.


    "And I will also tell you this because you seem to be worried about it, even though it''s not that important: You need to conquer the most powerful girl in this universe if you want to live and save the world."


    "What?" I said, feeling a little bit confused. "What do you mean by I can''t do what you just did, and..."

 Chapter 19 You Must Decide

    "...I need to conquer who?"


    I felt like time had stopped when I entered this ce but I didn''t know the exnation behind the phenomenon. Thew of time and space inside the mystical ce was clearly different from the outside world.


    ''A hero? Save the world? What the hell is that? I don''t think that I am the right person for that kind of job. I need to focus on bing stronger to be able to protect myself and those who are important to me first,'' I thought after listening to Pride''s sudden warning.


    "This is it, Mark, this is the problem with you. You are so indecisive, so inconsistent..." Pride began to talk to me again, all of a sudden, as if he was reading my mind. "Earlier, you looked like you know what you wanted to do but now, it''s clear that you are unsure. your true emotions. Is it because you are used to lying to yourself?" He said.


    "However, even if you think that you know what you want, your emotions can''t lie and they trigger the power of the primordial authorities who can act autonomously and execute the desire of their host. So reality, you were never convinced and never thought of yourself as a loser but you just tried to act like one to run away from the reasons for your failures and when you finally get the chance to change, move forward, and discard your loser self, you are scared. You are just being a hypocrite," he added.


    And his words were like knives, stabbing me where it hurts...


    "What do you know? I am running away?" I shouted.


    "No, the problem is that you are stuck, Mark! You can''t move forward and you just stayed in your little world, where you feel like you are someone that deserves something more than you already have. You are just a loser. You tried to sound humble with these endless monologues of yours. You were trying to make yourself the victim by belittling yourself but in the end, you didn''t mean what you were saying..." Pride continued without mincing his words. "...You wanted to feel superior to others despite your ugliness and petty character. That was your hidden desire and everything you wanted to do was for the sake of that pathetic dream."


    "You think I don''t know that I am a loser? I know... And I am trying to change in my own way," I replied as Prided continued to say the things that I avoided saying.


    "So you want to ovee your weakness? Yes, ovee... That''s a pretty interesting thing to say. So how do you n to do that? By trying to pick up a girl that is a way out of your league? Did you forget that you are a loser before? So tell me exactly, how do you n to ovee your weaknesses?"


    I had many ideas on how I should do things in this second life but at that moment, I couldn''t find anything to say.


    "I¡­ I¡­"


    Pride red at me with sharp eyes, and his words were clear.


    "It''s simple, Mark," he said. "You don''t know what to do. In the end, you just wanted to run away from your weakness again now that you are in this world. Oveing your weakness and running away from them are two different things. But things are different this time, Mark, because if you run away again, then you will die."


    "I don''t even know why a person like me was given a second chance in the first ce, and I don''t know even know why I should listen to you¡­ There is not a single damn thing that I understand, but do you think I will just die like that?" I said, feeling like Pride''s character had changed and he was berating me.


    "That''s not the question. Mark, why are trying to restrain yourself?'' It''s okay to be more ambitious, no one will stop you. Do you want to hold the ultimate form of power in the palm of your hand? Then do it, find a way, and explore the possibilities. Do you want to build a harem? Then do it. You will only waste your second life if you try to limit yourself to the norm of your past life¡­" Pride talked and made charismatic body and hand gestures that were appropriate to what he was saying. "Now, things are different from your past life, and you have more options to choose from, you can fulfill your desires, so all you need is the willingness and the ambition to achieve new heights..."


    I was surprised by what Pride said, but he was just stating the obvious, yet, somehow I wondered why I just thought that these things were too much for me.


    "And more importantly, you also can be the hero of this world. Now is your time to choose whether you want to stay a loser forever or to take this chance and face this new world for real." He added.


    "I.."


    Everything that Pride said was true and I couldn''t deny it, so there was nothing I could say. He wanted to imply that I could do more than be a sessful person in this world.


    However, the fact that I would die if I didn''t save the world sounded too cliched and illogical.


    ''The universe would get destroyed If I died? That doesn''t logical, and honestly, I want to void such a responsibility, because it sounds like there are too many problems rted to it... In the first ce, how can a single person achieve all of that? Yet this guy... In the first ce, how did he know all of those things anyway? Or is he just making up things?'' I thought.


    "I am persuaded that you will make the best choice, I want to believe in you. That''s why I will help you onest time. After this, I won''t be able to help you anymore for a long time so you need to continue alone from here." Pride said.


    "Help me?"


    "I will use my power to alter your memory and all of the people on this," Pride exined. "After that, you will forget about me, and Judgment will not be able to take control of the main body as long as you don''t remember us and the seal of your memory isn''t broken."


    "What''s the problem with me knowing about your existence?" I asked.


    "For now, you don''t need to know about that¡­"


    "Hey, that doesn''t sound logical¡­" I said, but Pride was already gone, and I  regained my consciousness.


    *****<sub> </sub>


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    While Pride and Adam were having a serious conversation inside of the mystical ce, Judgment was going out of control as he took control of the main body.


    Judgment was the depiction of purity, strength, and justice.


    In his eyes, everything that wasn''t pure and perfect was equal to a threat to his existence.


    Liu who was in front of Judgement understood that there was nothing more and nothing less than purity in this man''s intention and his aura and existence were the quintessence of rectitude.


    Judgment was nothing less than the perfect form of destruction.


    ''Such a thing, such an entity shouldn''t exist in this universe,'' Liu thought as her vision locked on the two crystal-like eyes that looked like they didn''t even consider her as a being that existed.


    Liu understood that she couldn''t win against this entity and she wasn''t even sure if someone could do anything about the situation.


    Liu was not the only one who realized that this being was something that shouldn''t roam around in this world.


    All of the people who saw the strange phenomenon happening around the city felt scared and it was an extreme form of fear because most of them didn''t even understand what they were afraid of.


    They saw their face in these fissures that appeared in the void sometimes as a child, sometimes as a man, sometimes as a woman, to the point that their brain couldn''t even process what was happening.


    Like Liu, Amelia who was looking at what was happening turned pale and couldn''t even speak at all. She was feeling something that she couldn''t even express with words.


    Her special eyes could only see a ck hole that felt like it was sucking her soul.


    ''What is this?!!!''


    Amelia wanted to run away at full speed and never turn back since she was just there because her father wanted to help her build rtionships with more people but never in her dream did she think that she will witness two of the most unexinable urrence in the universe.


    After all, those who were present such as Julius, Delio, and the other soldiers, nobles, and Lords were all living their worst fear.


    There was no exception.


    All of that happened just because a single being who looked like Adam but at the same time extremely different appeared in this ce in this world, in this universe.


    "Adam¡­ What is going on with you?" Julius was extremely worried and his mind was overloaded.


    Julius always had some feeling that his son was not normal but what was happening was out of his understanding.


    But when people were about to despair for real, Judgement grabbed his head with his hands and his body quivered violently.


    Then Judgement''s hair turned ck again and his body stopped shaking. "Guuh."


    Liu was surprised by this sudden change in personality and appearance. Now two crimson red eyes were looking at her and the baby that she was holding also calmed down and even reached her hands toward Adam or more precisely Pride.


    "Oh, you are¡­" Looking at the baby, Pride looked like he understood something.


    After saying these words, Pride snapped his finger and every living being on the fell into a trance state for a few seconds when they regained their consciousness, they forgot about the existence of Pride and Judgement and all of the strange phenomena that they created as well as Adam''s disy of power. Only the fact that he froze in ce during his speech remained.


    Adam also regained control of his body, forgetting about the mystical ce and the memories of the fallen hero but couldn''t stay afloat in the air and fell.


    "Huh? Aaaaaaaa!"


    Then, Liu used her power to create an ice dragon that caught Adam and helped himnd smoothly on the ground.

 Chapter 20 A Price Must Be Paid

    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    As soon as Inded on the ground safely, thanks to the help of the mysterious woman''s power, my tiredness caught up to me, and I instantly copsed from extreme fatigue, mentally and physically.


    I lost awareness of what was happening around me and my body fell into a dormant state.


    Everything was silent, and I felt a little bit rxed for some reason.


    Still, there was something that bothered me. I wasn''t aware of the outside world but some words were stuck and resounded in my head even though I couldn''t remember who said them.


    It was as if some part of my memories were blurry, but there was some information that popped inside of my head as they were always part of me, making the whole situation a little bit confusing.


    ''Well, the answer must be somewhere and I just need some time to look for them.'' I thought, looking back at what I was told to do.


    Honestly, I didn''t like the sound of it. ''Seriously, me? I must save the universe? But why? How can I bear the fate of countless people on my shoulders? How can I even save them when I struggle to take care of myself? And in the first ce, why the universe would be destroyed if I fail?'' I pondered.


    I still couldn''t understand, but this time, I was somehow convinced that I need to move forward despite my doubts.


    I was frustrated and even a little upset by the words that were stuck in my head.


    There were many things that I felt like I would neverprehend about this world, about the reason why I got reincarnated, and about my destiny if I continued to think and act like I always did.


    I understood that I wouldn''t find the answers to my question if I stayed in myfort zone.


    I needed to move forward and tackle what this world had in store for me. I needed to get stronger and find the path that I needed to follow in this world.


    ''Is this the true purpose of this second chance?'' I thought. ''It sounds a bit too grandiose, but now that I know how it feels to be close to the gate of death, I don''t really want to experience it for a second time.''


    I needed to find answers by myself, and I needed to learn the truth about everything. However, I needed more power. This time, I must take things seriously so what happened would never ur again.


    I didn''t know how or why, but I understood that I needed to reach the next level of my existence if I wanted to protect myself and the things I cared about.


    ''It would be pathetic if the hero dies before he could even save the damsel in distress, wouldn''t it? It sounds cringe though when I put it that way.'' I thought, but it was true I needed to make this power mine.  After all, it was the ultimate authority, so if I didn''t push myself to the limit and unleash my full potential, I would be dumber than those heroes that I made fun of.


    I couldn''t exin it with words and there was nothing recorded in my memory, but I knew that the words that resonated in my head were words that I shouldn''t ignore, and I strongly believed that these were meant to guide me even though they hurt my feelings.


    There were more than just words for me, maybe because I never had a father to scold me and always avoided some kind of heart-to-heart talk with someone.


    These words were like the key that opened the door leading me out of myfort zone and stepping into the real world.


    With them, I could somehow feel that a crisis that this universe had never experienced before was already urring and no one could stop it from happening.


    ''It''s just a feeling, an impression but I can''t shake it off... Well, might as well be prepared for everything rather than being taken by surprise every single time. I was lucky today, but if I am not thoroughly prepared next time, it might cost me something that I can never rece.''


    This universe was now my world too and I finally understood the true meaning behind that.


    Everything that was going to happen concerned me, and maybe, this was the price I needed to pay for my second chance.


    ''It''s still hard to ept a reality like this even though fifteen years had passed. For some reason, deep inside, I always continued to think that this could be a seem and I began to rx and enjoy it. Still, it seems like I need to be ready to face this new reality ande out of myfort zone for the first time in a very long time.'' I thought, and I knew that I still had a long way to go, but after I woke up, I was reborn again for the third time.


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    While Adam was unconscious again, something extremely strange urred on the under the jurisdiction of Lord Kepalta.


    "What was I doing here again?" Someone gasped and he wasn''t the only one, because a lot of people fell into a brief state of confusion.


    There was a gap in their memory so they couldn''t remember everything that happened during the minotaur''s invasion.


    It seemed like forgot about what Pride did or the existence of Judgement, but that seemed too unnatural, so after a while, a noble suddenly cheered and pointed at Liu and pped their hands.


    It if their brain tried to feel the gap in their memory by creating a logical exnation for the scene in front of them. After all, it was only the result that remained.


    "Thank you, miss Liu!!!"


    Then, more and more people shouted at the top of their lungs.


    "Thatdy saved us all!"


    "That''s the Frost Queen Liu, she is like a Goddess!"


    "Yeah, she is the one who killed the minotaur and eliminated the other monsters!"


    People began to gather around the za again and looked up at Liu as if she was their Goddess.


    Theypletely forgot about Adam, Pride, or Justice and the weird phenomena that he caused.


    However, Julius was concerned about his family and asked someone to take care of Adam and Marie.


    "Someone, please carry Adam and Marie to a morefortable room where they can recuperate!" He ordered, and some soldiers and maids carried Adam and Marie to their rooms. Then he followed them closely, holding Marie''s hand, and headed back to the Royal castle too.<sub> </sub>


    As for the Frost Queen Liu, she was looking at Adam with curious eyes, and the baby in her hand also reached her hand toward Adam.


    ''Why is this child so interested in this boy? He didn''t appear to be that special. Still, how did he manage to end up in mid-air?'' Liu thought as she looked at Adam being carried away.


    And Liu wasn''t the only one who thought so, because after seeing Adam who was powerlessly being carried away, and Julius''s face looking at him, people began to have various thoughts about him.


    Some felt sorry for Adam.


    "To think that that poor boy''sing to age ceremony would turn into a disaster."


    But the other nobles began to criticize Adam''s performance during his speech as if they had already forgotten what situation they were in and continued to chatter among themselves as they walked away.


    Their discussion was mostly centered around Liu and how could they earn her favor, but they didn''t miss the chance to include Adam''s performance in their discussion, knowing that he was supposed to be some kind of genius.


    "Still, I remember it clearly, the son of Julius was nothing outstanding even before the invasion. He couldn''t even utter a word during his speech. He still has a long way to go. He is just a kid after all, " A noble said.


    They even forgot Adam''s name, and they could remember only the fact that he froze during his speech and then passed out nervously like a coward.


    Rumors about Adam being a coward and spinless spread around, and even the people from the Empire had second thoughts concerning his admission to the Holy Academy.


    "The boy didn''t show any sign of possessing the power of the seed of primordial authority, at least for now," Gracia said in an indifferent tone as she looked at him being carried away, and she thought that Adam should have at least showed his potential when his mother''s life was threatened. "I don''t see any reason to stay here any further, since the hunter team will take care of the portal. Let''s head back tomorrow."


    "Yeah, you are right, but Lord Raizel is curious about him, so he still needs toe to the Empire either way. What happens after that is not my problem." Gordon answered Gracia even though she wasn''t particrly talking to him. He even followed Gracia and Marcel like some sort of big shot.


    The other remaining monsters were also all dead, and no one could remember how exactly Liu did it, but people were sure that she was the one who annihted these monsters.


    No one even considered the possibility of Adam being involved in this act, which was in a way a good thing, and people only remembered the dragons and Liu''s overwhelming power.


    They could even see the portal which was being sealed by Liu''s power in the center of the za, and so they were convinced that Liu saved the day which was in a way true.


    Not many people cared about Adam''s condition, and the atmosphere changed from a gloomy one to something that looked like believers worshipping their Goddess.


    *****


    As for Liu, she had a very particr reason foring to the where Adam lived.


    She was looking for some answers, or more precisely, she followed her intuition when the baby that she was holding threw a tantrum and pointed towards this particr.


    However, now the baby was pointing at Adam which left Liu puzzled.


    ''This boy doesn''t have anything special about him at all. Why does this baby want to see him? Is there something that I missed? I should probably do some investigation and observe this boy for a while because I can not disappoint my father. If this boy is someone special, and I miss this opportunity, then I will evoke his wrath,'' Liu thought to herself.


    She was tasked to perform a top-secret mission that would certainly increase her faction''s influence within the Empire.


    Only a few people within the Fenrirus family knew about this mission and some people from the Holy Church, and her father told her that the things that Lou was searching for could as well change the fate of the world, and her family could stand at the top of this new world. ''They are already here,'' her father said.


    Liu wasn''t interested in all of that world domination n, but she respected her father and couldn''t go against his orders, and she knew what happened when her father became angry.


    ''I will not fail...'' Liu steeled her resolve.


    Shended on the ground and approached Delio who looked like the most important person in the area since Julius had already left with his family.


    "Would it be possible for me to stay on this for a certain amount of time?" Liu asked, fixing Delio with her cold but morous blue eyes.


    "M-miss Liu, of course! You can stay here as long as you want!" Delhi was nervous, and it showed in his voice. After all, the woman in from of him was a ''femme fatale'' that could make any men drool.


    Liu''s long eyshes flickered a bit, and her hair fluttered like beautiful ck waves as she stood in from of Delio. The baby in her hand was also extremely cute and had a mysterious atmosphere about her.


    Then, Delio called a maid over quickly and gave her some instructions. "Hey, you! Please bring Miss Liu to the most luxurious room of the Royal castle and make sure that she enjoys her time here."


    "Certainly." The maid nodded her head and looked at Liu then said: "Miss Liu, please follow me. I will bring you to your room."


    "Okay," Liu replied curtly and followed the maid.


    No one dared to interrupt them and only watched Liu, who they considered a Goddess, walking away until she couldn''t be seen anymore.


    After that, chatters started again, and people began to get noisy, mostly those who were charmed by Liu without her trying to appear like how they perceived her to be.


    "Did you see that? The way she talked¡­" A bystandermented.


    "Her voice is so magnificent." A soldier said, his face full of ecstasy.


    "Do you see her face though? I don''t know anyone who can bepared to her. She has the face of a Goddess!"


    And so on¡­


    As for the other nobles, Lords, and their families, they returned to their rooms and prepared to leave right away.

 Chapter 21 Change

    :::[Adam POV]:::


    When I woke up the next day, my mind was clear, and I regained some of my strength.


    I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was the luxurious ceiling above.


    Then I sat up and stretched my arms, feeling a little bit heavy here and there.


    Some images shed back in my mind and everything that happened on the previous day seemed like a distant dream.


    However, I was sure that I finally found the right start line.


    To describe it simply, I woke up as a person who had a strong determination and clear goals.


    ''Well, I still need to think about an effective way to handle things from here though...'' I thought, as I stood up and walked toward the wardrobe, picked up some clothes, then changed my pajamas into formal attire fit for the son of a Lord.


    Various thoughts emerged inside my mind while I was changing, but I was calm and more confident about the decision I was about to take.


    I needed to change things step by step. Change my way of thinking, my way of doing things, my way of interpreting the things I saw.


    I needed to do that, slowly, but with a clear destination in mind.


    After all, having this kind of mindset was the first step to the next level of my existence, or so I thought.


    ''Then, I must find a way to be stronger and also search for a method to ascend to the next level. Sounds like a lot of work.''


    Furthermore, I needed to discover the reason why this universe was on verge of destruction and about the girl that would be the cause of it.


    "Will she be the one direct causes though, or is she an important key in the circumstances that will lead to it?" I said to myself. "Well, I can''t even remember the face of the one who told me about all this and it''s annoying...  Where is that girl and how can I meet her? Unfortunately, I don''t have the answer to these questions."


    I had a lot of things to do, and honestly, I would never have bothered with all of this if it were the old me.


    ''Even now, I still feel reluctant because there are many things that I can''t understand, but it''s time to change that way of thinking.'' I thought, as I stood in front of the mirror and looked at my reflection.


    This time I observed every detail of my face and my body.


    I had decent muscles, unlike how my fat body in my previous life. My face didn''t have any e scars and my skin was clear. My pitch-ck hair was smooth but a bit messy, and one of my ck eyes was now slightly tainted with a crimson red color.


    ''Well, at least I managed to work hard on my physical appearance.'' I thought, satisfied with the result of my physical training.


    Inside of the mirror was my current self, and I should ept it and be proud of it. However, I couldn''t take everything for granted, just because of this new body and my power.


    My training was not enough and what happened was undeniable proof of that.


    I shouldn''t think naively anymore from this point onward.


    After finishing changing, I walked toward the window and opened the curtains.


    The morning light instantly brightened the room, indicating that a new day was about to begin.


    It was still early in the morning and everyone thought that I still needed to rest, so no one tried to wake me up.


    After tidying my bed, I walked to the door, opened it quietly, and excited my room.


    Then, I walked along the hallway, descended the stairs, strode confidently to the main entrance, exited the building, and stepped outside.


    When I was outside, I began to wander around the whole castle, following the roofed walkway connecting all of the buildings of the Royal castle of Kepalta.


    I observed the people who worked inside of the castle, I looked at the details in the walls, the decorations, the nts, the shape of the buildings, everything¡­


    ¡­I felt like this was the first time I seriously observed the ce where I lived in. ''This is not a dream. I need to bepletely convinced of that and act ordingly.'' I thought as I saw the people working day and night to keep this Castle in perfect state.


    They were not extra characters, they were living, and I was not living in a dream world; it was the reality that I needed to face.


    As I walked around, some people looked at me with puzzled eyes but I just smiled at them curtly.


    I continued to walk until I arrived at the door entrance leading to the za.


    People were working hard to repair the damages caused by the minotaur.


    From the look of it, they had already begun to work while I was sleeping.


    Many people lost loved ones during that incident, so they had to take care of the bodies of those who lost their lives.


    I could see various emotions on the face of the people who were present on the za at that moment.


    Sorrow, anger, regret¡­ Everyone had their share of anguish.


    The whole ce was also covered with monsters'' dead bodies, so there was a lot of work to do.


    However, standing out from all of these people, there was one particr person who didn''t show any particr emotion on her face.


    I didn''t know her name, but I remembered that she saved me from crashing to the ground so I wanted to thank her.


    Moreover, she was an outstanding woman and a high-level gift holder.<sub> </sub>


    It had been a long time since I tried to approach a woman to begin a meaningful conversation and not for the sake romantic rtionship.


    I took a deep breath and walked in direction of the woman.


    When I approached her, it was the baby that she was holding who reacted. The baby let out a happy-sounding giggle and then reached her hand toward me.


    I didn''t know why, but this baby seemed like she liked me.


    Then the woman turned and look at me too. She didn''t show any particr emotion, but I felt like she was observing me.


    Her face was extremely beautiful, and her long eyesshes flickered a little when she looked at me.


    I didn''t think deeply about how to begin the conversation with her, but I managed to not show any sign of nervousness on my face.


    I straightened my back, filled my lungs with hair, then talked with a clear voice.


    "Good morning, my name is Adam. I am thankful for what you did to save my life yesterday. Could you please tell me your name?"


    "¡­"


    The woman stayed silent for a while as if she was thinking about something. Her face still didn''t show any emotions, but her eyes were looking at me with interest.


    ''Did I manage to give a good impression?'' I thought to myself.


    "It''s Liu." The woman finally answered.


    "Nice to meet you, Miss Liu," I replied, but I felt like Liu was not interested in talking to me.


    However, I knew that it was just my perception, and I needed to talk to her and find out her true intentions rather than overthink it myself.


    "So, is she your sister? What''s her name?" I asked with a faint smile on my face as looked at the baby in Liu''s arm.


    Liu stayed quiet for while again before answering. "No, she isn''t. Call her Verte." She exined.


    Liu''s answer was short and straight to the point, and her face didn''t show any particr expression.


    She was really hard to talk with, and if it were the old me, I would have thought that it was because of my face and gave up.


    Now I realized that my face was not always the only problem even if it was undeniably a disadvantage.


    "I see, can I hold her? She looks really cute." I asked, with an unfazed smile on my face.


    Liu looked at me for a while, and then nodded and handed Verte to me.


    I picked up Verte in my hands, and as soon as I did, she grabbed my clothes tightly with her little hands and buried her head on my chest.


    "Gugugu.."


    ''S-so precious!'' I didn''t know why she was acting like that, but Verte was just too adorable.


    I couldn''t help but stroke her head gently, feeling her smooth unusual green hair.


    "¡­"


    Liu didn''t say anything and just stared at Verte and me.


    I still couldn''t read her face, but I knew that she was constantly thinking about something while looking at me.


    "Verte is a very sweet child," Imented with a faint smile, looking at the emotionless Liu.


    I knew that it was not the right time and the right ce to talk about such a thing, but I had the feeling that I wouldn''t have the chance to talk to Liu again if I didn''t do it at that moment.


    Then I handed Verte back to Liu.


    Verte was unwilling to part with me at first, and I began to wonder why, but she finally let go after Liu held her with both hands.


    "Thank you again for saving our city yesterday, Miss Liu. It would have ended in a more sinister way if it weren''t for your intervention." I said, with a grateful voice, and I meant what I said.


    If it wasn''t for Liu then I would have died, and wouldn''t have had the chance to ovee my biggest issues.


    Liu didn''t say anything and just nodded slightly.


    After talking to Liu, I looked around and observed the surroundings more carefully, estimating the extent of the damage, and more importantly, I thought about what I would do to find the culprits behind all of it.


    Because if I found them, there would be no hesitation in the decision that I would take.


    ''I will use everything I have to kill them all,'' I thought.


    However, before that, there was still one thing that I needed to say to Liu.


    I turned my head and nced at Liu again. "Miss Liu, you look gorgeous today," I said.


    This time, I could see a slight change of expression on Liu''s face.

 Chapter 22 Change (Part 2)

    Liu looked bewildered only for a second then the apathetic look on her face returned.


    "Thanks..." Liu replied and looked elsewhere as if she was avoiding my eyes.


    In the end, I couldn''t understand what Liu was thinking, but unlike before, I managed to continue the conversation even if it was just a few exchanges.


    However, I didn''t overthink it and didn''t try to make some assumptions myself.


    It was a small thing that seemed so typical but the old me wouldn''t have been able to do it.


    It was not only about my new face, but there was this feeling of confidence in the way I acted, and I could say the things that a wanted to say at the right time, at the right ce.


    It was nothing new, but it was just that I forgot how to do it, and I needed to put the scenarios that I thought about during all of these years into action.


    Before, I was mistaken. There were indeed things that will never change, but epting the reality of things didn''t imply that a person gave up. ''Sometimes, we just need to move on and explore other alternatives. Only that way, someone can grow up as a person.'' I thought.


    ''But moving on is more difficult than it sounds mostly when the path in front was cloudy and uncertain.


    I thought that I was intelligent, so I believed I didn''t need anyone to guide me or tell me what to do, but


    it took me forty-five years to understand a thing as simple as that.


    After the small exchange with Liu, I continued to look around again, and my eyes were attracted to the group of people near the portal in the center of the za.


    I was curious about these people since I arrived.


    From what I could see, most of the people who stood within the vicinity of the portal were soldiers from the Empire.


    However, five people, wearing distinct suits of armor stood out and attracted people''s curiosity.


    I didn''t know when they had arrived here, but I knew about the existence of hunters in this world.


    It didn''t take me too long to connect the dots and concluded that these five people were hunters as I observed the way the normal soldiers treated them, their attire, and the fact that they were not among the guests.


    Moreover, they didn''t have the crest of the Holy Church or the Empire but apletely different one. The hunters'' crest.


    ''What are they doing?'' I pondered.


    One of the hunters was holding some kind of white crystal stone, which was glowing, and the portal fragmented and turned into ck particles that were absorbed by the stone, causing the portal to shrink in size.


    After that, I immediately understood that they were trying to seal the portal, or more precisely to seal the unstable primordial particles inside of the artifact. ''It looks like it takes too much time though.'' I thought.


    As for the other hunters, they were using their power to block monsters froming out since Liu used her power to block them before.


    ''These people are at least level 7 gift-holders,'' I deduced.


    However, the portal was still fairly big, almost half of its original size.


    ''Does it normally take this long to close a portal? I might be able to close it, but right now I am not fully¡­. No, that''s not how I should act, that''s not how I should think.'' I thought to myself.<sub> </sub>


    There was nothing to hesitate about. I should just do what I did the best, and avoid any more dangerous situations by letting the portal open any longer, just because I was not fully recovered.


    I bowed slightly to Liu and then walked over to the group of hunters, keeping my back straight, my chin up, and my pace steady and confident.


    It took more effort than I thought,  I understood that keeping up appearances was not something easy.


    It was wrong to judge someone as arrogant just because you couldn''t walk or stand the way they did. After all, it required a lot of effort.


    At first, the soldiers who saw me looked at me with curious eyes, but then it turned into confusion.


    "What are you doing here kid? This is not a ce for you to be at." An older soldier said when I got closer.


    I knew what he was trying to say, but I avoided needless a discussion by ignoring him.


    What I had to do didn''t change.


    "Hey, are you deaf?!" The soldiers shouted, then rushed and stood in front of my way.


    I was within ten meters of the portal and the soldiers began to think that I was just a clueless kid who was driven by his curiosity.


    As soon as I saw these soldiers, I activated my power and they were frozen in ce.


    My power used a lot of primordial particles, and I could never have enough of them stored inside of my body, but I theorized that only primordial authorities can withstand it.


    My heart was beating fast, but my face was calm and my movement was not stiff.


    I continued to step forward, and each step I took brought me close to the portal.


    The soldiers couldn''t say anything or do anything, and they just stood there frozen.


    Seeing this, the hunters were also alerted, but as soon as they were within the range of my power, they stopped moving.


    They didn''t even have the chance to speak, and I was not there to talk with them or exchange some greetings.


    "I am not here to negotiate with you. I am here to close this portal to make sure that nothing else goes wrong." I said with a calm voice, my eyes focused on the portal.


    Immediately after that, the portal turned into piles of ck rock which fell to the ground.


    Then these fragments turned white like the crystal that one of the hunters was holding.


    ''This is how it should be.'' I thought.


    After that, I said nothing more and turned around then returned to where I came from.


    I decided that it was time for me to see how my mother was doing, and talk to my father about everything that had happened.


    ''Including that maid...''

 Chapter 23 Curiosity

    :::[Third person POV]:::


    Liu continued to look at Adam as he walked toward the group of hunters.


    She stayed around the za to see how the hunter team dealt with the portal, but she didn''t expect to see Adam there.


    As for Verte, she was also a very mysterious entity altogether, so she didn''t need that much sleep and was very active all the time.


    Liu was fairly surprised by their little exchange and never imagined that Adam, who looked so helpless and pitiful the day before, would suddenly talk to her like she was someone of his age.


    She also realized that while she was talking with Adam, she didn''t put her guard down as she would do with an ordinary kid.


    She felt like she was talking to an adult rather than a young man. Adam''s way of talking was a little bit odd, mostly because he was supposed to be a noble himself.


    More importantly, thatst sentence Adam said with a calm face made Liu''s heart flutter a little bit, and that was an emotion that she wasn''t ustomed to.


    Most of the time, when some menpliment her like that, it made her feel disgusted because she could feel the lust in their eyes.


    Liu, like most girls, was very intuitive when it came to things like that.


    ? However, Adam''s eyes were pure, as if he did not have any kind of ulterior motives but just gave his honest opinion.


    Then, Liu was also stunned by Verte''s reaction. This mysterious baby never approached anyone apart from Liu. At that time, however, she looked like she was in the arms of her father.


    Liu realized that there was more about Adam than meets the eyes.


    Nevertheless, she wanted more evidence and more information, so she was waiting for a chance to test Adam for real.


    As Adam was getting near the portal, Liu was more curious about what he was trying to do.


    "¡­?"


    No emotions appeared on her face but it was as if a question mark popped above her head.


    "Gugugu!"


    Suddenly, Verte let out happy noises and reached her little hands toward Adam.


    Liu was curious about the connection between Verte and Adam, but for the time being, she contented on observing.


    "Hm?" Liu let out a tiny gasp.


    She saw Adam being scolded by a soldier but he just passed them as if nothing happened.


    ''What is this feeling? It''s quite simr to what happened at that time.''  Liu pondered as she looked at Adam, then she took a nce at Verte who seemed very energetic and pped her little hands.


    Then after that, Liu''s eyes widened.


    ''What''s going on? What happened to the portal?'' She thought, but before she could even process what happened, Adam was already on his way back with a confident smile on his face.


    He looked satisfied with what he did, but Liu didn''t know what happened.


    Before she knew it, Adam was already near her, and then he looked at her again.


    "Miss Liu, as you can see, we have to finish dealing with the aftermath of yesterday''s incident, but I hope you enjoy your stay! You can directly talk to me if there is anything else you need." Adam said, then he made some gesture with his hand, trying to make Verteugh.


    "Gugu!" Verte giggled looking at him.


    After that, Adam bowed his head courtly and went on his way.


    Liu had a kind of weird look on her face, something between shock and curiosity. However, her face quickly reverted to her usual expression.


    ''What was that?'' Liu wondered because Adam''s way of speaking startled her.


    There was also the fact that Adam just did something extremely odd.


    ''I need to discover what is happening as fast as possible¡­''


    *****


    Amelia was standing not far across from Liu.


    Her family was going to head back to their,ter on, that day, but she decided to look at the scene where the whole incident took ce onest time.


    There was this feeling that she couldn''t get rid of and weighed on her heart. It was as if there was something that she missed.


    She looked at the scene in front of her and noticed that there were a few strong people present there. She knew that these people were from the Empire and were known as hunters.


    Hunters were respected because they risked their lives to fight against monsters that could destroy cities, and towns, ons that were not directly under the protection of the Empire.


    Amelia respected them, and she even dreamed to use her particr talent to be a support for a hunter team in the future.


    To do that, she was going to attempt the entrance examination of the Holy Academy.


    However, there was something that made her freeze in ce. It was urring when a boy of the same age was walking toward the portal.


    At that point, it still looked like this so-called Adam was being bratty, but then something unexpected happened and Amelia was about to remember something, then her mind went nk.


    She was looking at Adam but there was nothing, and he looked like a normal person who possessed a gift.


    And that was weird because her whole body screamed in fear.


    ''W-why am I feeling scared just by looking at him?'' Amelia thought to herself.


    [Are you curious?]<sub> </sub>


    Suddenly an ominous voice echoed inside Amelia''s mind.


    Amelia was feeling extremely awful at that moment, and when she began to hear a voice inside of her too, she thought that she was losing it.


    ''What''s going on with me?'' She asked herself, feeling concerned about her mental health.


    [I will give you knowledge if you are willing to ept it.]


    The voice continued to talk, and Amelia be more and more scared.


    ''Who are you? What''s going on?'' She asked herself, seeing that no one else heard the voice.


    [You will understand everything once you ept me. Everything will be exposed in front of your eyes, and you will finally understand the things that only you can see.]


    The voice made an offer to Amelia, but just hearing the sound of the voice made her doubt and feel scared...


    "I¡­"


    Amelia was extremely confused by what was happening to her.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    I exchanged some words with Liu again before heading to the building where my mother was resting.


    Liu didn''t say much, but I hoped what I did would help with the future exchanges between the two of us.


    Though I didn''t want to overdo it, so I kept it short and waited for new opportunities.


    As I walked, I looked around and people were still looking at me with puzzled eyes. I didn''t understand why, but I guessed that they were feeling sorry for me because my birthday turned into carnage.


    However, among the crowd, there was one girl who looked pale and ufortable.


    ''What''s happening to her?'' I wondered, but before I could do anything, the girl hurried somewhere with a perplexed face.


    I didn''t pursue her, because I knew that some people lost their loved ones during that incident.


    I also almost lost my mother for a second time, so I could rte to her even if it was a little bit.


    ''She needs some time to reflect on all of this,'' I thought.


    After that, I made my way to the main building where my parents lived in.


    I didn''t understand why, but I decided to live in a different building when I turned thirteen, because that way, I thought, I would be able to focus on my research without raising anyone''s suspicion.


    Now that I think about it, I didn''t even consider my parents feeling and was only focused on myself.


    ''I am stupid sometimes...'' I realized.


    When I entered the building, some maids were shocked to see me.


    I didn''t pay attention to their chatters, and instead, I asked if I could see my parents.


    No one could stop me if I wanted to go see them, but considering that it was still early in the morning, I asked just in case.


    As soon as I arrived at the front door of my parent''s room, I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.


    Tok! tok!


    "Who is there?" My father asked.


    "It''s me, Adam," I replied.


    "Adam? Come in..."


    As soon as I heard my father''s word, I entered the doom, minding my steps.


    "¡­I didn''t expect to see you here so early in the morning." My father continued.


    "I was worried about, M-mum." I stumbled a little bit. To say that one word took a lot of effort than I thought. It had been a while since I called my other mother that way, even before she passed away.


    At that time, I realized that I never called my second mother like that. Even if I respected her and loved her, the way acted made it look like didn''t treat her like my real mother. I was too unfamiliar when talking to her, and I felt like she was worried about it for a long time.


    "Adam..." My father mumbled.


    "I am fine now, Adam." My mom said in a very peaceful tone.


    She sat up on the bed and looked at me with gentle eyes.


    At that time, I got misty eyes.


    "Mom, I love you."


    I said, the words escaping from my mouth naturally. Then, I felt somehow embarrassed despite all of the things that I went through.


    My mom just smiled when she heard me.


    "We love you too, Adam," she said with a soothing and gentle voice.


    "Yeah, yeah, we love you son! But did you exclude someone just now?"


    My father remarked, and the three of usughed quite a bit.

 Chapter 24 Real Changes? New Troubles?

    After the small talks, I began to discuss serious matters with my parents.


    "Adam, I am sorry that your¡­ Well, your birthday party turned into that catastrophe," my father said. "That was within my responsibilities as your father and the Lord of Kepalta."


    The look that he had a look on his face was something that I had never seen during these fifteen years. Anger and regrets were apparent in his expression.


    "Don''t worry Dad, I have learned a precious lesson from that failure so, in a way, it was something that must happen sooner orter," I said, trying to not let my father me himself too much. "Still, I cawho n not forgive the ones who plotted this, and I have someone might lead us to the real culprits in mind."


    "Adam, about that¡­ There was that woman called Liu. You may not remember her but¡­" My father looked like he didn''t want to talk about it for some reason.


    "Liu?" I mumbled curiously.


    "¡­That woman said that she had already taken care of the two people who were behind this. Their names were Randwig and Baleria, she said. I don''t know about these people, but they must be some influential Lords. She also said that it was just by coincidence, and she felt a surge of powering somewhere else so she was just passing by."


    My father looked like he didn''t know what to feel. He should be happy that these scoundrels died, but there was this feeling of anger inside of his heart that needed to be directed somewhere.


    "I see, so miss Liu did that¡­ I should thank her againter," I muttered. I honestly didn''t expect Liu to do all that just by pure coincidence.


    "So who is that person that you suspect?" My father asked.


    "You know, people working and living here know that mum is so thoughtful and gentle, so that person took advantage of her kindness to poison me. Right before my speech, I drank an ice tea prepared by mum. The person who handed me the drink was the head maid, and she is the prime suspect," I exined.


    "Ha!" My mom reacted to my words. "¡­But why?" She added and looked a little bit sad. The head maid served the Kepalta family for a long time, so I understood why she would react like that.


    "This a delicate matter. If everyone were to know this, people will begin to get suspicious of each other, mostly during times like this¡­" My father exined seriously.


    I agreed with my father. Even if it was the head maid, it must have been because the real culprits used some underhanded method to ckmail her, or so I believed.


    ''Still, I can''t be too sympathetic,'' I thought.


    "I guess I will leave this in your expert''s hands father," I said, trying to increase my father''s pride a little. I wasn''t sure if I did it right though. It was just that I didn''t know what will happen if I saw that person again, so I decided to leave it to my father for now, but I also decided to continue investigating on my own.


    "Josephina¡­ What happened to her?" My Mom said with a small and lonely voice.  She must have trusted the head maid.


    It was a good idea to discuss and leave this matter to my parents even if I could manage to deal with it alone.


    ? *****


    :::[Third Person POV]:::


    After Adam left, Liu grabbed a tinymunicative device from a pocket on Verte''s clothes, as she was using Verte as a pouch.


    Ting! Ting! Ting!


    It seemed like she received a call through this device.


    Adam knew thatmunication devices were not that rare in the Empire, but it was not used like how it was used on earth. There were no social media here, even though there was a broadcasting system that exploited the use of different kinds of mana stones.


    However, only important people in a vige or a city possessed amunication device in case of emergency or tomunicate with their Lords or other people from differents.


    Then, Liu took themunication device and put it into her ears.


    "Mm." Liu made a sound indicating that she was listening to the person on the other side.


    "Miss Liu, have you found something?" A female voice talked inside of themunication device.


    "Yes. I will stay here for a while. Continue to monitor this from where you are." Liu answered with an indifferent voice, but her eyes were serious.<sub> </sub>


    "Roger that.''"


    "Anything about these entities?" Liu asked, her voice bing more serious and cold than it already was.


    "Nothing suspicious for now. But stay on your guard Miss Liu, these things are dangerous." The voice sounded worried.


    "I know, but I can''t disappoint father," Liu replied, showing resolve on her face.


    ''¡­I will get inmunication with you again at ater time,'' the voice said.


    "Mm." Liu concurred and took themunication device from her ears and put it back inside the pocket on Verte''s clothes.


    "Gugu?" Verte tilted her head as if asking what was Liu thinking.


    "It''s nothing. I hope we get to the bottom of this fast. We need to eat something for now."


    Liu said, but she was more or less talking to her herself.


    But when she was about to return to her guest room, someone approached her.


    "Liu, how are you doing?" A young man asked with a bright smile.


    His name was David, and he was handsome.


    "¡­" Liu didn''t even reply and ignored David. She walked without turning back.


    Even though she might look young,  Liu was five years older than David and Adam.


    David was being too familiar to her and it didn''t please her.


    "Haha, I guess she didn''t hear me," David said andughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.


    *****


    Somewhere in the tangible multiverse, an entity was sitting on a dark stone throne, and the room that he dwelled in was shrouded with darkness.


    "Find the other branches of the Tree of life¡­ No matter what you need to do, bring it here¡­ God has forsaken this ce¡­ Nothing will bring us salvation if we fail¡­" The man said, and his voice was rough and sinister.


    "Yes, my Lord. We shall execute your orders without fail," another man said while kneeling in from of the throne.


    "Mmm¡­ What about that creature¡­ That vampire woman? She has one branch¡­ No?"  The voice asked.


    "S-she used an artifact that allowed her to travel across dimensions, and we lost track of her¡­" The being who was kneeling reported and fear could be traced in his voice.


    "What?" The entity sitting on the throne mmed on the armrest, and the entire room quivered violently.


    After seeing this, the being who was kneeling shivered and swallowed his saliva, then he continued to talk before the Lord got angrier.


    "B-But, there is no problem, my Lord, as it''s just temporary. We have that thing, so anyone who possesses a branch of the tree of life can''t hide from us no matter where they lurk." The one who kneeled tried to appease his Lord.


    "Mmm¡­ I hope you mean what you said¡­ It is true that the monsters can be controlled for now, because of the pact that I made with the devil himself, but who knows how long it willst¡­ You should be more aware than anyone else about what had be of the universes that became the nest of these countless monsters¡­ When these abominations will be released in the rest of the multiverse,  it will be the end of all things¡­ At least, we will survive," exined the Lord.


    "I-I understand, my Lord."


    "Now go, and don''t bring any more disappointing news."

 Chapter 25 Realization

    After talking to his parents, Adam was determined to find some strategies or some tools that could help him increase his strength because, and considering the circumstances, there was nothing much he could do apart from that.


    ''I tried to float but I couldn''t do it anymore?'' Adam thought to himself. ''There must be something that I don''t understandpletely about my power, and the answer is somewhere inside my head, but there is just too much information that I have just acquired. I need time..''


    He believed that just training his physical strength was not going to do much because there was not much time, so he decided to visit the only ce where he could probably find such a thing, the research department.


    When he entered the research department building, the first thing he saw was a woman that he vaguely remembered.


    "Good morning, Ca-Carlie¡­?" Adam muttered, although he sounded unsure, as he looked at the brown-haired woman with ample chest.


    The woman shot a piercing re at Adam.


    "Ha? Are you trying to make a funny joke, or did you finally be senile?" She said, looking at Adam tiresomely, and dark circles were apparent under her eyes. "Anyway, don''t talk to me now, I am going to sleep."


    Adam didn''t say anything to Carlis and just looked bewildered. She was always like that even though she know Adam''s status.


    ''This ce is a mess as always.'' Adam thought, seeing the room, and likely the entire building, that was filled with failed prototypes, junk metals, paper sheets, books of all sorts, and other unknown materials.


    It looked more like some kind of a mad scientist''s dungeon than a properboratory.


    Seeing Adam''s reaction the woman remarked something. "What''s wrong with you? You look so¡­ I don''t know, different?"


    "Well, I..."


    Adam saw a confusing scene shing back inside of his mind. However, all he was sure about was that he needed to do something about himself.


    Before Adam could say anything, the woman looked at him and made her point.


    "Is it because of what happened yesterday? Honestly, I didn''t think that something like that would affect you." She scorned, looking at Adam as if she was trying to settle an old grudge.  "Thinking back about how you looked so confident every time you came here, treating me like an amateur and looking down at me with these red eyes, I never thought that you had stage fright..."


    "What? Red eyes?" Adam looked confused.


    "Mm? Whatever. I got no time tofort you if that''s what you came here for¡­ Unlike you, I am a full-fledged scientist. But for now, I gotta sleep," the woman said, but she was mumbling rather than talking, and then disappeared somewhere inside of one the room inside the building.


    "What''s up with her?" Adam wondered out loud.


    "Don''t mind her, Caroline is just trying to cheer you up in her way." A voice came from behind him before he could understand what Caroline meant.


    ''So her name was Caroline,'' Adam thought to himself.


    The person who talked to Adam was amon-looking man in his thirties, and he had this aura screaming that he was a scientist just from the look on his face and the sses that he was wearing.


    Adam greeted the middle-aged man. "Ah, Good morning¡­. Mr¡­?"


    "Haha, Good morning, it''s Joshua. You are still as uninterested in people''s names as always, young Lord. But I am d that you are still your usual self after yesterday''s incident," the man said, and unlike his appearance suggested, the man had a deep and manly voice.


    "Haha.." Adam let out a dryugh.


    "Anyway, I will ask you again if I have some questions rted to that project. For now, I need to focus on my research¡­ Hehe," Joshua said, and an ominous smile appeared on his face as he walked away.


    Adam was seriously confused by how these people treated him.


    ''This is a little bit annoying. I can remember the existence of these people but some details don''t match up with my memories. What kind of person was I in these people''s minds?'' Adam thought.


    Every time he reflected on something, his mind became an encyclopedia.


    If someone has written about Adam''s story and readers could see what was happening inside of Adam''s head, then they might think it was a bad joke and the author tried to force them to read a reference book.


    Still, Adam knew that it was dangerous to leave things to luck when his life was at stake, and even if he didn''t do anything, the world would still move forward with or without him.<sub> </sub>


    But people hesitated when confronted with doubt and uncertainties, and sometimes, it affected their decision and even their personality.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    The research facility should be familiar to me, yet everything felt foreign when I took a closer look at the surrounding.


    I looked around the room and inspected every corner of every closet.


    ''It feels like I didn''te here for a while,'' I thought


    When I thought about the reason for all of this, then all I could think about was what happened yesterday.


    ''Why I can''t remember about these things though?'' I contemted, but I decided to not think about too much stuff at the same time. ''Still, at this point, I don''t even know what I should expect.''


    I walked around the building for a while and finally arrived in front of a room that I was familiar with.


    I opened the door, using a key that I only possessed, and then entered the room.


    "What the hell is all of this?" I said.


    The scene in from of me was just too startling, so I was more stunned than I expected.


    The room was packed with a lot of futuristic-looking gadgets that, lying around almost in every corner room.


    "Did I create all of this?" I wondered out loud and picked a cube-like object on the table and examined it. I knew that I worked here for a long time but not enough to create all of the things that I saw in front of me.


    "It seems like I am faced with another mystery. As if what''s happening inside my head wasn''t enough," I said to myself, but I knew that there was an exnation for all of it, but I just couldn''t connect the dots yet.


    Nheless, I was excited to see all of the high-tech stuff inside the room.


    The first thing I needed to do was to examine all of these gadgets and understand their functionality.


    Also, I needed to distinguish the prototypes from the useful ones.


    There was a lot of work to do.


    For these past fifteen years, it felt like everything was easy and going smoothly, but after what happened, I knew that my efforts weren''t enough.


    "So first, what is this cube? It looked important because it was left on the table and not on the floor like everything else¡­" I wondered and examined the ck cube. "I can somehow remember everything else, but this one... Mmmm, I can''t remember when I created this. Or does it belongs to someone else? Well, that''s unlikely."


    The surface of the cube was metallic, and when I took a closer look at it with a microscope nearby, I found out that the cube was not a chunk of some kind of metal, instead, it was the product of the assemge of tiny little fragments.


    "Nanotechnology?" I said out loud.


    The cube was something made with extreme precision and a lot of attention the detail.


    As a whole, it was perfectly shaped without any w, and everyponent that constituted it was perfect without even one single w.


    I ced the cube in front of my face, trying to find out if it had other functionalities.


    ''Pzzz!''


    Suddenly, a faint red light was projected from the cube and scanned my face. Then a  female voice, which sounded emotionless but also convincingly real, spoke to me.


    [Scanpleted. Activation of the system. Wee back, Master.]

 Chapter 26 C.R.I.S.T.A.L

    :::[Third person POV]:::


    The events that happened sessively in these 48 hours were eye-opening for Adam. The dark clouds inside of his head dissipated but revealed new challenges and more mystery that he needed to ovee.


    However, he was not yet at the end of his surprise.


    The ck metallic cube that he was holding began to speak and floated in front of him.


    When faced with such a situation, people tend to have different reactions, depending on their personalities and background.


    As for Adam, he was one of these people who looked calm on the outside, but his mind overflowed with questions.


    ''What is this? A robot with AI integrated into the system? It looks extremely sophisticated, and it can even, float?'' Adam thought, trying toe up with a reasonable theory.


    He looked at the floating cube in a very inquisitive manner, trying to figure out what course of action he should take next.


    However, before Adam could specte any further, an emotionless female voice reached his ears, sounding like it couldn''t stand the silence and the dumbfounded look on Adam''s face.


    [You can refer to me as C.R.I.S.T.A.L, short for ''Creation. Reinforcement. Support. Transmission. Autonomous. Lecturer.'']


    "What? That sounded so random¡­ But wait, more importantly, what are you exactly?" Adam asked.


    [These refer to my basic functions. I am your guide and assistant.]


    "I see," Adam said, but he couldn''t help but find this robot extremely cool in many ways.


    Of course, Adam would be very excited about this, because he liked to watch sci-fi movies like the S*ar w*rs saga, and he was also a fan of Jarv*s the AI created by Sta*k, and most of the time, he would go to the cinema alone to watch these movies.


    "Can you understand my words?" Adam asked and approached his face to Cristal''s lens.


    [Yes. I understand what you are saying. I can also see your silly face, Master.]


    "How can you do that? You can even read my expressions?" Adam said, bing more and more excited.


    [¡­]


    "What else can you do? Can you transform into a weapon? Or turn into something like armor?" Adam asked excitedly.


    He tried to keep hisposure and was wary of potential danger, but it was obvious that he was somewhat happy with Cristal''s appearance.


    [Master. Please listen to this recording first.]


    "A recording?"


    Ignoring Adam''s questions Cristal yed a voice recording stored inside of her memory.


    [Recording number 3. Adam, if you listen to this, it would mean that the time had finallye, and I am not around anymore. I left Cristal to help you from here. You got this Adam, and don''t forget that you are not alone anymore. Also, there is not much time left. If I am gone, then these dark entities should be aware of your existence by now. Cristal will exin the details, but your first goal is to find all fragments of the Tree of life that exists in this universe before them. This will help you to advance to the next level of existence and maybe will bring hope to all conscious beings. I don''t know if we will meet again someday, but I know that you can do this no matter how many times you have to go down. Finally, be extremely cautious of the Holy Church. Something is lurking there, in the shadow of the Empire.'' End of the recording.]


    "Firstly, who is that?" Adam asked because he heard a somehow familiar voice. "I don''t know where, but I have already heard that voice before... Was it in this world though?"<sub> </sub>


    [You can consider that person as a sort of fatherly figure.]


    "Father? As far as I know, I am not adopted." Adam said, trying to understand what was going on. After all, he witnessed the moment of his birth in this world so there was no chance for him to be adopted.


    [ It was the simplest way to exin to you the nature of that person, but his identity doesn''t matter because he never intended to meet you.]


    "What?" Adam muttered. "That didn''t even answer the question. I already have a lot of things to process, so it''s a bit annoying when the mysteries keep increasing."


    [You need to be patient. That person said that when you are ready to know the truth you wille, and you will need me. So it''s finally time for me to execute my first mission and be your assistant and your guide.]


    "Are you saying that all of this time, this person was there observing me?" Adam said.


    [Yes, you would have been in danger if you got into contact with him or acted recklessly, so he asked for your memory to be altered.]


    "This doesn''t make any sense at all. What kind of danger are you talking about? Is it rted to the destruction of the world? " Adam said as if he realized something after listening to Cristal.


    [The circumstances were a bit moreplicated than what you think. However, he also said that you don''t need to worry because he left me here.]


    "Complicated? To the point that he had to use such an extreme and confusing method? Isn''t it even moreplicated now? I have gaps in my memories, and I was told that the world would be destroyed by a faceless person in some kind of dream or a vision, I don''t even k ow anymore, and now, I find out that someone was observing me all of this time. How the hell is that notplicated? " Adam said, obviously discontent with what he just discovered.


    [Master, this is not just about you. If everything didn''t go as nned then you would have died a long ago. Also, some dark forces were watching, and if they found out about your power they would havee here before you could even understand anything. That was a race against time. There was no time to carefully exin all of the preparation needed for this nor gather information.]


    Cristal exined, but Adam didn''t look convinced at all. He couldn''t swallow the fact that during all of these fifteen years his mind was tampered with by someone.


    "How can it be not about me? I spent 15 freaking years without knowing all of that, and now I begin to wonder if I ain''t justpletely stupid at this point " Adam said, trying to think about what he should do next.


    [That was why he focused on gathering information. His initial n was to focus on your growth as a person first, and only after that did he n on developing your power. However, there were too many unexpected factors, and his power and the information that he knew were too limited, so he used you to gather information in his stead, all for the sake of this day. He realized that It was inevitable that some dark forces will take notice of you, sooner orter, so you might be attacked before you can even be strong enough to protect yourself. That is why he changed his n and decided to make use of me.]


    Inconsiderate of Adam''s feelings, Cristal continued her exnation.


    "Wait..." Adam said.


    "It''s not about that¡­ The scale of the things that I need to do is just too big. I decided to do this, and I steeled my resolve, but still, it is hard to digest all that in two days." Adam said with an exasperated expression.


    [That is understandable, but there were too many things that needed to be taken into consideration, and also many unstable factors, such as yourself. He didn''t have the choice with his limited power. He didn''t know how to deal with you either, because normally you are the one who is supposed to control your power and not the other way around.]


    "Even so, I still think that he should have talked to me and we could have dealt with it in a better way," Adam said, feeling like Cristal didn''t understand what he was saying. Well, she was just an AI, he thought.


    [¡­]


    Cristal stayed quiet for a while as if observing Adam, before continuing.


    [You still don''t lookpletely convinced at all.]


    "What? What are you trying to say?" Adam said, knowing that there were things that felt too unreal even after spending fifteen years in this world. "This is something that needs to be taken seriously¡­ I need to think about a lot of things and need time to ept them as real."


    [I see. Pick up your sword and let''s start from the beginning. This is where you start.]

 Chapter 27 The True Meaning Of Restart

    I was taken aback but what Cristal just said.


    I couldn''t help but wonder about her intentions. ''Pick up my sword? Is she going to train me? But how? Does she have some kind of secret training method?''


    What she said about a mysterious person who watched over already made me a little bit conflicted because it sounded like this person was different from the one that I couldn''t remember the face. ''They are not the same person, are they? This is getting a bit confusing... My head is a mess."


    [Master, you should focus on what''s important now. I will answer all of the questions that I can answer when the right timees. For now, you need to be aware of your position and the things that need your immediate attention.]


    I felt like Cristal more or less read my expression and offered a suggestion.


    Thinking back about what happened during that incident I realized something. "Yeah, I know, but my sword and my power alone aren''t enough. I need something else."


    I remember that I was able to float, but I still couldn''t figure out how I did it.


    ''If I manage to build some kind of armor or even something like a propulsor, then it will greatly increase my mobility and range of attack,'' I thought. ''The sma sword worked fine too. It still needs some adjustments, but it''s effective again monsters.''


    Along with these, I also wanted to build something that could detect enemies and sneak attacks, but it was a lot of work.


    ''Well, I don''t know what kind of enemies I will be facing, nor when I will face them, but from the look of it, they will be a millions of time stronger and smarter that a minotaur,'' I said to my self as I nced at Cristal who was floating in front of me. ''Fortunately, It seems like this AI could help me with various things from now.''


    Moreover, even if it was just a possibility, I didn''t want to die for a second time, so I thought that at least, it was better if I could protect myself and my family, even if I didn''t be a hero or shing of sort.


    [Master, I know that you are trying to change yourself. However, it''s not that easy when you do it. I don''t have feelings, but if I have to give an example, then it''s like trying to rewrite the source of an already working software from the scratch.]


    I understood what Cristal wanted to insinuate. "I know that, and I am doing my best."


    [Master, I will help to get stronger but you need to trust me. Before you can do anything, you first need to understand clearly your current level and we will decide what you need to improve from there. That''s why let''s test your limit at the training ground.]


    Cristal said these words in her emotionless voice. Then, she headed toward the door, as if telling me to follow her.


    "Yeah, you are right." I said, and I picked up the sma sword that I kept hanging on my belt and walked towards the door.


    <o>,m I wasn''t expecting to miraculously be a God of war, but I wanted to get stronger, so I decided to listen to Cristal.</o>


    I needed to find something to make up for the shorings and turn this power of mine into the ultimate weapon.


    *****


    Cristal floated next to me as I walked across the roofed walkway, and headed towards the training ground.


    People were staring at me with puzzled eyes again. I didn''t know why but I felt that these people were gossiping about me.


    Well, there was the mysterious ck box that floated by itself, so it was understandable that people would be surprised.


    After walking for a while, I finally arrived at the training ground which was situated in a detached area a little bit away from the Castle.


    It was an open field where people could train with dummy monsters and mannequins¡ªspare among themselves or challenge their agility, their stamina, and their strength, in special training grounds that were equipped with traps.


    Unlike what I expected, there were a lot of people on the training ground. I theorized that the incident stimted their survival instinct, and they wanted to get stronger.


    When I arrived at the training ground, the people who were training there stopped what they were doing and looked at me weirdly. It was as if they were asking why I was there.


    Seeing them, I kept myposure and moved to a free spot where I could test my strength on a dummy monster.


    Cristal had not said anything since we left the room. I assumed that she didn''t want to attract more attention than she already did, but after I moved to a more suitable spot, I needed to know what she was nning to make me do.


    "So, what do I do now?" I asked.


    [Swing your sword multiple times, to begin with. Imagine that your mother is attacked by monsters, and you need to kill every monster only with one sh.]<sub> </sub>


    "Okay... Then?"


    [Master, just do it.]


    "Well, I guess I will listen to you for now¡­" I replied.


    I activated my sma sword and then held it with both hands. I tried to remember what happened during that incident, that feeling was I shed these monsters one by one.


    Then, I gathered my strength in my abdomen, my legs, and arms. When I felt my muscle tensing up, and my limbs overflowing with energy, I lowered my stances and swung my sword multiple times.


    sh! sh! sh!


    I swung my sword and tried to recreate the movement that was vaguely engraved inside of my memory.


    Satisfied with what I did, I asked Cristal. "So how was it?"


    I could hear some chatters among the crowd of people that were present on the training ground.


    [Look at what you did yourself, master.]


    Cristal didn''t answer my question directly but instead projected my recorded performance for me to see.


    I was shocked by what I saw. I couldn''t believe that this was my current level. "I didn''t think it will be this bad!"


    [Do you need to rewatch it closely?]


    Ashamed by what I saw, I panicked a little. "Wait, wait¡­ I''ve seen enough!"


    Inside the video, I didn''t move as I pictured inside my head at all.


    My movements were so sloppy and so unrefined.


    [What do you think? From what I can see, I don''t think you can even beat a single goblin with this.]


    I waspletely sure that Cristal was mocking me, even though she should be emotionless.


    "I know that Ick skills, but just I need to focus on my training from here," I said.


    [I know everything I need to know about you, master. Do you think that physical training alone will make you a swordsman? As of now, don''t have the necessary processing ability to predict moves, calcte all of the various probabilities, and make mental simtions of the most optimal oue. You need to start from the basics, and develop your skills.]


    "I know that," I said, feeling like Cristal was just saying the obvious.


    [You need to remember your goal, master.]


    ****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    While Adam was struggling on the training ground, a person was standing in a dark alley somewhere in the capital of Kepalta.


    "Yes, I have finished cleaning up. The kid didn''t seem to be that exceptional yesterday, but today, he did something unexpected. I believe further observation is needed. As for the one who showed potential, I believe that the Lord had already made his move. That''s all for today''s report."


    The person seemed like he was talking to someone using amunication device.


    "Yes, I understand. I will continue monitoring the boy. For our God!"


    After that, he made sure that no one followed him and he walked toward the main street, then blended with the crowd.

 Chapter 28 The True Meaning Of Change

    :::[Third person POV]:::


    While Adam was at the training ground, something happened inside the castle.


    Julius shouted and stood abruptly from his seat. "What? She died?"


    A soldier made a rapport concerning the maid who was suspected to have poisoned Adam. And the content of this rapport shocked Julius and the other people inside the room greatly.


    Julius and the other nobles were having a meeting, rted to the incident of the previous day when someone knocked at the door and gave this report.


    The soldier answered Julius''s question, showing a piece of paper tainted with blood, and had words written messily inscribed on it. "There was a letter this letter in her room."


    "A letter? Are the words readable?" Julius asked. It might contain some clues about what happened to her after all.


    "Yes my Lord, It can be read," The soldier said after inspecting the paper in his had. "The letter says the following: ''I am so sorry, I didn''t know what to do¡­. I had to choose. I couldn''t let them hurt her. She is just a na?ve girl¡­ In the end, I failed¡­ That thing, that person, he sees everything¡­ Lady Marie, please be careful of the¡ª" The letter ended there.''


    "What was that? And how she died?" Julius wondered out loud, shocked by the content of the letter.


    "It was suicide, my Lord. S-she hanged herself," exined the soldier.


    The situation turned out to be more and more concerning.


    Julius still didn''t know about it, but the motivation behind Balista and Randolph''s actions seemed so petty. It was as if someone pushed them to act by offering them a golden opportunity.


    No one in the room thought that all of this was because of the fact Adam awakened his gift when he was six and that Pride used some of his power to process information.


    There was something dark who monitored constantly what happened in this universe without anyone noticing.


    Julius was feeling anxious and his intuition told him that something odd is happening.


    "Thank you for your report. You can go now," Julius said.


    Then he closed his eyes and massaged his temples with his hands.


    Like Adam, Julis also got a lot going on his mind and this was one more added to his list of problems that needed to be investigated and solved.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    I knew that I still needed more training if I wanted to increase my strength, but I didn''t expect that my actual skill would be that bad.


    It seemed like my perception of myself was distorted at a very crucial level.


    Even though I said that my power was iplete, I tended to believe that I would manage to ovee any obstacles if I just found something that could make up for its shorings.


    However, I was wrong. What Icked was something more fundamental.


    [During this test, try to activate your power as long as you can, and swing swords as many times as you can.]


    I believed that I more or less understood what Cristal tried to show me, but I already understood with that first test so I didn''t understand the point of the second test.


    Honestly, I was mentally tired of all of these enigmas and this information that seemed like they were already too much, but turned out that they were just the tip of the iceberg.


    I don''t even know what could probably surprise me at this point.<sub> </sub>


    I was on the verge of understanding something, but then something less popped up.


    I kind of shut down my brain and ignored all of this information, so that I focused on one thing at a time.


    However, it was extremely difficult when all of this information seemed important.


    "Okay, I will do it¡­ But I need to reorganize my thoughts a little after this." I said.


    [ As you wish.]


    I took a deep breath, then focused on the primordial particles inside my body. It was simr to trying to move your toes.


    Then when I felt the primordial particles inside my body gathering in a single point, which was my chest, I tried to let them all out of my body.


    This was the most basic way to activate my power.


    All I left to do was to swing my sword multiple times and get others with this. I still had many things to think about.


    ''Huh? What''s going on? I can''t activate my sword.'' I realized something unexpected.


    I couldn''t activate the sma sword, or more like, it switched off the moment I activated my power.


    ''What is this?'' I pondered.


    Then tried to activate the sword without using my power, and it worked fine.


    "What is this? I can''t use my sword while my power is active? I remember that I could do it before when I was killing those monsters, so why it doesn''t work now?"


    It was so simple. I needed to swing my sword multiple times while using my power, and with that, I would be able to attack, my enemies, when they are immobile, but it seemed like I was not able to do it. ''I never used this sword while activating my power before that incident because my power used a lot of strength to activate. Still, why did I assume that it would work?''


    I frowned. "Cristal, my mind is a bit tired, so do you know what''s happening?" I said.


    [Master, it seems like you got the wrong idea about the nature of your power.  However, you need to rest for today. You are on the verge of having a mental breakdown. You are emotionally unstable too. You might not be aware of it, but I can analyze your condition; you are not doing well at all, master.]


    "Hahaha, mental break down huh? Is it my fault though?" I said. "I am doing my best to change. I need to change my way of doing things, but I need to ept that my ability alone isn''t enough if I need to do that in a short time. So tell me everything I need to know. Make sure you don''t leave any details out."


    Cristal just stayed afloat in the air, showing no reaction as I expected.


    [Master, I suggest you share some of your worries with the people you trust. Even if you must face everything alone, you don''t have to be the only one who knows what you are going through. You seem to be convinced that if you talk to someone then it will make you look like a kid or unintelligent.]


    I was a little bit annoyed by Cristal''s words. "What do you even know?"


    [Your mother is currently spending time inside the garden. Talking to her might help your current self to avoid an undesirable turn of events.]


    After saying that, Cristal floated above and disappeared somewhere.


    Before I knew it, everyone was looking at me with a dumbfounded expression. I didn''t realize that I talked loudly and not everyone knew that Cristal could talk.


    Whether I liked it or not, I needed to rest a bit. My mind was starting to hurt.


    ''Talking to my mother will probably help me a bit.'' I thought to myself.


    I didn''t expect my mother to understand what I am going through, but her presence brought me peace so I decided to listen to Cristal''s suggestion.

 Chapter 29 The True Meaning Of Second Chance

    The atmosphere around the Royal garden was as serene and appeasing as always.


    When I entered the pyramid of ss, I could see my mother sitting on a chair like a mystical fairy surrounded by nature and calmness.


    I was happy to see that she recovered quickly.


    I walked down the paved path and headed toward her, passing by a lot of exotic nts on the way, and soon as my mother saw me, a smile appeared on her face.


    I somehow smiled back at her too, even though I had many worries inside my mind. It just came out naturally.


    Pouring some tea inside of a cup, my mother looked at me with gentle eyes. "Adam, would you like some tea?"


    "Yes, please," I said as I sat on a nearby chair.


    I couldn''t possibly refuse such an invitation, not when my mother''s voice was so soothing.


    I took a sip from the tea that my mother served me, and honestly, I felt a bit revitalized.


    My mother sat across me and looked at me as if she was reading my face. "Adam, are you not feeling well?"


    My shoulders flinched a little when I heard these words.


    "Don''t worry, Mom. Everything is fine." I said, and I didn''t know what she noticed about me, but I didn''t want to cause unnecessary worries for her.


    I knew that Cristal suggested I talk to my mother but it didn''t mean that she would solve everything.


    Just seeing her smile was good enough for my mind.


    However, after she heard my words, my mother''s face became serious, but her eyes werepassionate.


    "I know that there''s a lot of chaotic emotions inside you," She said. "It might be an intuition, but I can feel it. I know that I am not as smart as you or your father, but even so, I care about you. All of you have to do is share your worries with me."


    My eyes widened, and the words that my mother said made me feel weird, so I lost my usualposure.


    "Mom, I-I don''t know what to do. Can I save the world?" I said, and I didn''t even know what I was saying. My question didn''t make any sense at all, but I didn''t where to begin even if I wanted to exin everything.


    My memory loss? My reincarnation? My power? My goal? Everything sounded soplicated, so in the end, these were words that I could mutter.


    My mother''s face became gentler when she was my reaction. She didn''t ask anything, and instead, she told me something unexpected.


    "Adam, it''s not about if you can or you cannot. If you will only regret not doing itter, then is there a need to hesitate? Is there a need to fear failure?" She said and took a sip from her cup. "Failure is not always a bad thing, it''s the most effective way to learn from our mistakes, as long as we don''t give up."


    Then she gestured for me to look at the castle. "Look at this castle. Can you build one like this or not?''


    I didn''t understand what my mother was trying to tell me. "I don''t know. It depends."


    Then my mother looked at me again.


    "You see, you don''t know the answer because you never tried to build a castle, and you don''t know what precisely are the things that you need to build a castle," she exined. "So, the question is not if you can or you cannot build a castle. It''s the desire that makes you want to build a castle. You mighte together with failure, frustration, and other problem during the process, but you will learn little by little how to build a castle if you really want to build a castle."


    I was amazed by how clear my mother''s exnation was.


    My mother adjusted her hair a little bit. "However," she continued. "If you hesitated at the beginning, trying to think about if you can or if you cannot build a castle, in the end, you won''t be able to build a castle and won''t know how to build a castle."


    At that moment, it felt like everything was clear. This time, I didn''t only find the start line, but I also understood what I need to do to move forward.


    However, I was still feeling a little bit anxious.


    "I know, but what if my failure will lead to the destruction of the world?" I said.


    My mother took a sip from her cup again. "Why do you care about the world?" She said.


    I didn''t expect to hear these words from my mother''s mouth. Confusion was apparent on my face.


    "But it''s the world¡­" I muttered


    My mother raised her finger and made a point. "Adam, you''ve got your priority backward. It''s not about the world, right? It''s about the people that you care about who live in this world. If you don''t have people like that, then why do you care about the world? You are just forcing yourself to carry something that you feel doesn''t concern you at all, She said, then she put her hand on her cheeks. "I don''t know about the things that are weighing on your mind, but don''t you think you should explore this world and see if there are people worth protecting here before deciding for yourself? Words alone aren''t enough to change your perception of this world or motivate you to do something."<sub> </sub>


    At that time, it was as if a light bulb appeared in my mind and enlightened my senses. "You are right, mom! You arepletely right."


    My mother nodded at my words.


    "I am d that I could help you, even a little. Still, don''t push yourself too hard. I will not bear losing you, my only son."


    "I will be prudent Mom," I answered, knowing that my mother was genuinely worried about me.


    I didn''t know why, but my mother trusted my words and didn''t doubt my sanity when I told her something extremely odd.


    It might have been a simple fact, but it meant a lot to me, as I never had someone to talk to about such a thing before, to the point that I be who became used to not talking about such a thing to anyone because of my trust issues.


    I realized that there was still something missing and wrong in my way of changing myself.


    After that, I continued to talk with my mother about various things.


    But I never expected that this discussion would change my perception of things.


    ''I need to go discover this world with my own eyes, right?'' I thought


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    The room was dark and almost empty. There was only one bed and a chair inside it.


    Sitting on the chair was a white-haired old man, wearing a ragged coat, and looking extremely frail.


    The man was on the verge of passing out, but then an emotionless voice startled him.


    [I havee to report: Master is now ready.]


    When the man opened his eyes, a ck metallic cube was floating in front of him.


    He was aware of the nature of this mysterious object, and a faint smile appeared on his face.


    "I knew that pride would mess up a bit trying to do things by himself. He was just as problematic as Adam after all. I didn''t expect him to manipte Adam''s memory for ten years and create you. But there was no other choice. I hope that with this, Adam would be able to do what I couldn''t."


    "Cough! Cough!"


    [Your time hase.]


    "Yeah, my time hase. I shouldn''t be here in the first ce. However, the power of the original primordial authorities is ourst hope. No one should be aware of their true power until Adam¡­" The man suddenly felt all of his strength leaving his body. "Cough, cough!"


    He used all of his life''s energy toe to this universe.


    That was when he realized that Pride, one of the Primordial authorities had already awakened.


    However, Pride and Adam were like problem children who only cared about themselves. Pride only cared about the survival of its host, and Adam only cared about trying to live an easy life.


    In the end, Pride didn''t follow the n and used his power, which caught the attention of some dark forces even though it was faint, and at the same time, awakened Adam''s gift sooner than expected.


    Adam also told his parents about this news and a lot of people began to notice him.


    It was inevitable that the Holy Church would use some kind of method to test him.


    The man looked at the metallic cube again and smiled.


    "I guess, this version of Pride outdid all of the previous ones. I will leave the fate of this universe to both of you." He said in an almost fading voice.


    After that, the man closed his eyes, and his body turned into luminous particles.


    Only his clothes were left on the chair, and the man left this world forever.

 Chapter 30 Not A Complete Coward

    Julius was still inside the meeting room, along with people like Delio and other trustworthy men in charge of managing the capital of Kep.


    They were in the middle of a serious discussion, concerning the budgets necessary to cover the damages caused by that incident.


    They were also discussing the potential existence of a spy, and consequently,  how to tighten internal security.


    The damages were considerable, and there were a lot of issues with the family of the guests who lost their loved ones.


    The discussion was at its most crucial point when someone knocked at the door, for the second time.


    Knock! Knock!


    Julius had already ordered the guards to not let anyone in unless it was something extremely urgent.


    Because of that, all of the people inside the room turned their attention to the door when someone knocked.


    Julius had no other choice but to ask what happened, so he let the person beyond the door enter the room.  "You cane in."


    After Julius said these words, a bunch of people entered the room, with arrogant and haughty looks on their faces.


    They didn''t care about the people that were present inside the room and just started their business as if they own the whole ce


    These were known as hunters. It was true that hunters were important people, but some of them were just too arrogant.


    Among all of the five hunters hunter who entered the room, one person, in particr, walked in front of the others.


    A man, in his twenties, had brown hair and a handsome face. His full-body armor looked expensive and was probably made of rare materials.


    He inspected the room, and then looked at Julius.  "Sorry to bother you, but I want the Lord of Kepalta to summon his son here, at this moment. He needs to be educated."


    Julius frowned at the hunter''s words. "I understand that you are a hunter. However, I would like you to provide valid reasons for why I should summon my son."


    Julius was already on the edge, and these people were telling him that his son needed to be publicly educated. It was more than unpleasant, to say the least.


    Still, the hunter didn''t even care about Julius''s reaction. "Reasons? My words alone are enough, but if you want a reason, then it''s because he acted like a fool. We almost failed to close the portal due to his unwanted intervention."


    Julius'' eyes widened at the man''s word. "What?


    "This is a serious matter. I suggest you listen to me and it will end here." The man continued. A threat was mixed in his words.


    Julius quickly understood what was going on. These people didn''t care about the and its inhabitants at all.


    They were there for the merits, but it looks like Adam did something that displeased them.


    Julius sighed. "Guard. Please bring my son here." He wanted to avoid more trouble.


    After that, the guard left the room and went to look for Adam. During that time, the other hunters arrogantly sat on the chairs that were at the other end of the long table.


    They were chatting among themselves, ignoring the other people inside the room as if they didn''t exist.


    Julius and the other men kept their calm andposure. They were mature enough to read between the lines. Just a look at Julius''s face and the other men of Kepalta understood his intentions.


    A few minutes after that, Adam was entered arrived.


    Adam looked more manly than usual, and his face looked peaceful. "Did you summon me, father?"


    Julius was surprised yet again after seeing how much his son changed in just a few hours. "Yes, these people want to exchange some words with you."


    Adam looked around the room and saw the five hunters. "I understand, but why now?" He didn''t even care about these people. Adam also had many things going on inside his mind.


    "Hey kid," said the brown-haired hunter. "Don''t you have something to say to us?"


    Adam looked at this man not impressed or nervous in the slightest. "Hm? No, I don''t think so."


    Adam might have been a coward in his previous life, however it was only when it came to dealing with women or his internal struggles; men didn''t impress him in the slightest.


    It was more like, he kind of disliked those who acted arrogant just because they were good-looking.


    The brown-haired hunter looked at Adam with disdain. "I admit it. You have guts kid, but you can''t just go around and meddle with other people''s business. You don''t even what were you doing."


    Hearing these words, Adam spoke nonchntly. "Ah, you are talking about that portal. Well, I had a more efficient and quick way to deal with the problem, so I don''t see any issue in using it. Even if I told you about it, then you won''t believe me anyway. I just did what I had to do."


    The brown-haired hunted mmed on the table. "Kid, you are looking for troubles!"


    Adam''s expression didn''t change, his eyes were looking down at the man. "Trouble? You are the one who called me here. If you want to say something to me, why don''t you say it directly to my face without using this kind of method?"<sub> </sub>


    "You brat! You need to be educated." The brown-haired man said and tried to activate his power.


    "Education? Are you even qualified to address me without honorifics?" Adam walked toward the man. The atmosphere inside the room tensed up. "I would like you to try, if you can that is."


    Julius was looking at what was happening, and he couldn''t believe his eyes. He really should stop Adam, but he was also proud of his son.


    Julius was conflicted, and so were the other people inside the room.


    As for the other hunters, they believed that their leader will teach Adam a lesson.


    They were not sure what kind of method Adam used to close the portal, but they couldn''t stand Adam''s arrogance.


    However, when Adam walked toward them once again, no one could move.


    "Do you take yourselves as some kind of big shot or what? This is my home, and I will protect it. If you are not happy with that, then you can go. But don''t act like as*holes." Adam said, grabbing the brown-haired man''s face with his hand. He used a lot of force and the man''s face turned red.


    These hunters understood that they were at Adam''s mercy, and he could kill them all if he wanted to.


    Not many people could overwhelm four top hunters (level 7 gift holders) at the same time.


    Their intuition told them that Adam was not to be underestimated.


    After that, Adam released the man''s face and spoke more politely. "Now, please leave. The guards will escort you back, and you can leave this as soon as you can. Your work here is done, you are not needed anymore."


    Feeling that Adam deactivated his power, the other hunters tried to attack, but their leader raised his hand and signaled them to stop.


    Adam had already his sma sword ready to be activated in his hand.


    The brown-haired hunter looked at Adam with resentful eyes. "I will remember this," he said with a furious voice. Then he stood up, followed by the other hunters, and left the room.


    Everything quieted down as soon as they left, and Adam also didn''t say anything but just bowed his head slightly and left.


    However, every people who were still inside the room asked the same question inside their head. ''What just happened?''


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    The sun already set when I came back to my room.


    I was extremely tired, not physically but mentally. There were too many things that I needed to think about.


    When I opened the door, a familiar emotionless voice weed me.


    [Wee back master.]


    I didn''t even have the strength to show a shocked expression anymore. My head was on the verge of exploding.


    "Hey, Cristal. Where have you been?"


    [I went to take care of some business. However, it''s not the right time to talk about that.]


    Cristal was right. At that moment I just wanted to close my eyes and forget about everything.


    However, even though I tried to do that, I knew that I wouldn''t be able to sleep before long.


    [Shall I y music?]


    I didn''t expect to hear these words from crustal. "Music?"


    [Yes. How about "La valse d''Amelie"? You like that piece right?]


    "But how did you know that? Wait, wait, how can you y music from my previous life here?


    [Is that important now?"]


    "I guess not."


    After that, I could finally listen to the music that I enjoyed and managed to get some sleep.


    Crustal was helpful in many ways. I wondered what else could she do.

 Chapter 31 New Possibilities

    On that day, I woke up earlier than usual.


    As soon as I opened my eyes, various feelings prodded me to think, and just in a few minutes, I waspletely awake.


    When I looked around the room, I could see Cristal floating beside my bed.


    [Good morning, master.]


    After rubbing my eyes, my vision cleared and I realized that it was a little still dark. "Cristal, what time is it?"


    [It''s 3:14 AM. You woke up early.]


    I sat up and began to think about several things, but in the end, the most important question that needed to be answered was rted to the nature of my power.


    Cristal said that I got the wrong idea about my power, which was very troubling.


    Unable toe up with a convincing theory, I decided to ask Cristal. I wanted to find the answer on my own, but there was no time to be wasted. "So, can you exin what you said yesterday? The thing about my power."


    [As you wish, I will exin that now. It seems like master won''t be able to do anything else unless  I answer all your questions.]


    For some reason, I got overly familiar with Cristal. Before I knew it, I depended on her more and more.


    However, that didn''t mean that I could leave everything to her. At the end of the day, the only one who decided the path I would follow was no other than myself.


    Still, I can''t act haughty and refuse Cristal''s help just because other people might think that I was stupid.


    I thought that I understood what my power was, but now that I thought about it, I couldn''t make a head or tail out of the story that person told me.


    "Can you begin by telling me what exactly is the nature of my power?" I said, and I wasn''t sure if that was the right question to ask first, but there were just too many of them.


    [Your power is a variant of the original Primordial authorities. There are two primordial authorities: Creation and destruction.]


    That part was clear.


    [The Creation authority is the source of all supernatural urrences in this world, such as the existence of primordial particles, monsters, and also the power people call "Gift". The creation authority is autonomous and can be a self-aware entity that only exists for the sake of fulfilling the desire of its host.]


    That part was more or less clear too.


    "I understand, but I still don''t understand why I can only use this power of neutralization even though I inherited this primordial authority,'' I said.


    [That''s where it gets a little bitplicated, master. You certainly inherited the original authorities, but it''s just a tiny fragment. And even if you do possess the perfect form of these authorities, your current body would be destroyed.]


    Cristal said something that intrigued me and I listen seriously to what she said.


    [Even the fragments inside of your body can be lethal if not stabilized. That''s why you can''t use the full power of these authorities, now. And your power is what keeps you alive. It''s not neutralization, it''s nullification. It nullifies all of the supernatural urrences that exist and is rted to the Creation authority; the only particr gift that is derivated from the original authority is ''Destruction''.]


    At that moment, I realized why I got the wrong idea when it came to my power.


    I could nullify the ability of those who had gifts and also monsters because they possess primordial particles.


    So, with the power of primordial particles, which were part of their body,  these people couldn''t move. "Does that mean that those who are giftless aren''t affected by this? And when I activate my power, my sma doesn''t switch on because of that?"


    [Yes, master. You understood it quicker than I thought.]


    "Well, it was obvious. I was just more stupid than I thought." I said, feeling like I didn''t use my head for the right things.


    After listening to Cristal''s exnation, I began to reassess the pro and cons of my power.


    ''I see, so that''s why gravity isn''t affected by it,'' I thought, ''but does that also means that a normal physical attack can hit me?''


    There was also the fact that I used my sword while activating my power during that incident, but it was the work of that faceless guy while he was controlling my body.


    ''I can''t even remember him,'' I thought to myself, ''but it''s clear that he was involved with me in a lot of ways, creating a lot of mystery that I have to solve. It''s annoying.''


    "But, why did the sma sword work during that incident if my power nullifies supernatural urrence?" I asked.


    [That was the point of that test master. It was just a matter of skill. Let''s stop here for today so that you could process this information. Instead, we will talk about the skills that you need to learn when ites to the use of your power.]<sub> </sub>


    Cristal was right. I still had many questions, but unlike before, I knew that it was better to go step by step about it. "Okay, so what do you suggest?"


    [Please look at this.]


    Cristal projected a 3D image in front of me. "What? Can you do this too?"


    [It''s more effective than saying: "Close your eyes and imagine."]


    "Yeah, for sure!"


    I didn''t understand what Cristal wanted to do but I decided to trust her.


    I looked at a 3D model of a person in front of me.


    Then a sphere appeared around the figure in the image with its interior filled with a light purple color, covering the figure''s body and the whole sphere.


    [Let''s that this sphere is the force field that you create when you activate your power. Now the sphere is filled with your power, and so every supernatural power within it is nullified. That''s the first and most basic way to use your power.]


    It was very easy to understand Cristal''s exnation, even though I already knew about this. "Yeah, understand that part.


    [ Now look at this.]


    The sphere was still filled with purple color, but there was a gap and the purple color didn''t touch the figure''s hand. Also, a sword appeared in the figure''s hand but the purple color didn''t reach it.


    [This was how that person could use the tinum sword while using your power. As I said, it''s just a matter of skill. He made sure that there was a gap between the areas affected by the power and his body. It''s true your power originates from your body but it doesn''t that it should cover all of your body. You can control from with part of your body the power wille out from, and even the area that will be affected by it.]


    ''Of course, there was that option,'' I thought after listening to Cristal''s exnation. ''I reallyck imagination.''


    [For example, you can do this.]


    All of the purple color inside of the sphere disappeared and only ayer remained. The sphere was now empty and only a single purple line was connected to the figure''s hand.


    [Like this, you won''t waste primordial particles, and this can act as a barrier. However, you need a lot of practice to be able to control it. Firstly, because your power is not visible to normal eyes, if you fail to activate it during a crucial moment, then you will be heavily injured.]


    My eyes widened, and I could see many possibilities appearing in front of me. This power was awesome and almost invisible.


    However, I needed genuine skills to be able to fight and control my power at the same time.


    "Cristal, I need to train. I am determined to do this," I said.


    [Yes. I have already thought about what you need to do next. You are going on a trip.]


    "What?" I asked, but when I thought about it twice, I understood that there was more in Cristal''s n.


    [Unfortunately, I can not train you with your sword skills. All I can give you is theory and calction which wouldn''t help you that much the way you are now. However, there is someone on this who might be the ultimate swordsman of this world.]


    "A swordsman? Where is he?" I asked.


    [He should be living a secluded life in the mountains, like all of these legendary hermits. However, we won''t know unless we go there ourselves. I have the coordinates of histest known location. We can depart as soon as you get a hang of controlling your power.]


    Before I knew it, it was already decided that I will be going on a trip to train with this mysterious swordsman.


    The situation escted in apletely different direction than I had imagined.


    ''Sounds like the beginning of a legendary in one of that martial arts stories,'' I thought.


    After that, I discussed other things with Cristal, and before I knew it, it was already seven in the morning.


    Then I was called by my father, and our family had a little meeting.


    My father wanted to have a kind of family meeting to discuss various things.


    I also had things that I needed to discuss with my family.

 Chapter 32 The Emperor

    My family was gathered together around a table.


    We were having breakfast, but my father also wanted to discuss something with me and my mother.


    However, I was so shocked when I saw my father''s face, as he looked like his soul was sucked out of his body.


    Hisplexion was pale, almost lifeless, and his eyes looked dead and dark circles were apparent around them


    He must have worked non-stop and only took a little break to eat with us.


    Seriously, it was easy to guess how exhausting the work that he needed to take care of was.


    I couldn''t help but respect my father for this. He was not a Lord for nothing.


    While I was thinking about these things, my father looked at me with his exhausted eyes.


    "Adam, what you did yesterday was improper and disrespectful," he said in a serious tone, and I didn''t intend to argue with him.


    "I lost myposure, seeing how insolent they were, but I reflected on my actions," I replied.


    I was seriously having a good time talking with my mother when I was suddenly summoned, and when I arrived at my father''s workce, I saw five annoying fellows who looked like they own the whole ce.


    Most of these guys were way younger than me, and I was seriously pissed off when they tried to humiliate me just because I dealt with the issue easily in a better way.


    My father sighed and then smiled a bit.


    "Well, you showed some courage and boldness too. Some people changed their opinion about you," he said. "However, you need to bear the consequences of your action. Even though these people were unpleasant, they were still hunters. Just know that I won''t help you with this. Deal with the consequences of your action like a man."


    I could see that my father wasn''t as angry toward me as he seemed. He was just being a father and a Lord.


    "Don''t worry father. I will put them in their ce if I see them again," I said.


    Hearing my words, my father looked at me with doubt.


    "That''s not what I meant¡­" He muttered.


    My mother chuckled a little looking as she listened to both of us. It was probably because the conversation sounded a little bit stiff.


    "Cough.." My father stopped eating and looked at us. "That incident almost cost me both of you. It was a miracle that you survived and I am extremely grateful for that. From now, I won''t let something like that happen again," he said.


    My mother looked at my father with gentle eyes. "Julius, don''t me yourself too much. We also care about you, and we don''t want to see you overworking yourself," she said because she knew more than anyone else how hardworking her husband was.


    "Marie¡­ You are right." My father said, taking into ount my mother''s feelings. After all, no one would want to see the people they loved suffering from overwork, even if it was for their sake.


    I wished I could find someone like my mother in this life. No matter how I looked at it, my father was extremely lucky to have someone like her.


    My mind was at peace when I saw my parents like this. It was a sight that I never experienced in my past life. It made me a little bit sentimental.


    "Oh!" My father shouted, looking like he remembered something. "It seemed like there will be a special announcement from the Empire that will be broadcasted all around the world today. Many things happened so Ipletely forgot to tell you about it. It will begin in a few minutes. I thought that we should watch it together after breakfast."


    I was wondering about the kind of technology they used to do that, but I was more curious about the content of this announcement. "Announcement? This was the first time I heard about such a special asion," I said.


    "The Emperor will make some important statements. It must be a game-changing one, for the empire to take this kind of exceptional action," my father said.


    I was extremely curious about this announcement. After all, it might have a huge impact on the choice that I needed to make from there.


    It was no secret that the Holy Church was a dominant part of this world after all.


    *****<sub> </sub>


    After eating breakfast, we moved to another room equipped with devices that could project images and sounds.


    Before long, the broadcast began, and I was kind of anxious knowing that if it was somehow connected to the future of this world, then I will have more problems to deal with.


    The crest of the Empire appeared on the screen, signaling that it had begun.


    Then a person, wearing extravagant clothing made his appearance. He looked majestic, and I could see that he was different even whenpared with the other Lords.


    [To all people in this universe, I Razmondius Li Emporora, express my regards.]


    The man, who was the current emperor of the Empire, began his speech, speaking in a deep and charismatic voice.


    I looked at him, realizing that this was the face of the most influential figure in this universe, and realized that I still had a lot to discover.


    The emperor had long silver hair delicatelybed into curls. His eyes were fierce and showed no hint of doubt in himself. His face was manly, mostly because of his beard and his almost perfect jawline. His posture was worthy of his title, and no one would question his genuineness as a ruler just by hearing his voice.


    If all this was an act, then it was more borate than these films from Hollywood.


    [The purpose of this announcement is rted to the monsters that threaten the peace of our world. First of all, it was determined that the appearance of these despicable creatures became more frequent in the past few years. The strength and number also increased potentially and unfathomable damages were caused. It pains me to see people suffering and losing their loved ones, and I understand your pain because I also lost someone. That is why, in a near future, a war on a scale will that never happened before will take ce, and there''s no avoiding it. We must exterminate these monsters once and for all.]


    I listened to the Emperor''s speech with great interest. It looked like the Empire was the concerning appearance of monsters.


    [Today, I announce the creation of a new operation called Armageddon. From today onwards, every man at the age of seventeen and higher will get the honor to be an official soldier of the Empire or be a hunter.]


    It also seemed like a war was unavoidable, and the Empire was trying to recruit as many talented soldiers as possible.


    [We will not give in to these monsters. Humans are strong. During this decade many extraordinary gift holders appeared and there this group of people could be considered thest pir of humanity. This group of people will be known as ''The tinum generation'' and the Empire value such talented individuals, so they will be given a special title. This year''s Holy academy entrance exam will serve as a way for these people to shine and the event will be also broadcasted all around the world. Honor, fame, money, you will be rewarded everything if you fight to protect and not to destroy. Anyone can take this entrance exam so don''t hesitate to show what you are worth.]


    It sounded like the Emperor tried to appeal to talented people to join the Empire. There must be something going on for a powerful force such as the Empire was this desperate.


    It looked like I needed to discover what was happening in the shadow of the Empire in one way or another.


    [Finally, I would like to announce that a new saint apprentice was chosen. And it''s no other than my daughter Neige Lyh Emporora, the second princess of the Empire. She will seed the current Holy mother in her holy duties when she finishes her training. This is a great honor for me her father, and the entire royal family.]


    At that moment a girl appeared on the screen, and for a second, I almost forgot to breathe.


    Being extremely shocked was an understatement.


    ''I feel like I was reincarnated just to see this girl. Well, that''s an exaggeration but how beautiful can a person be?'' I said to myself.


    Her hair was as white as snow. Her eyes were as red as blood, and her lips were even more beautiful than how Snow White''s was described. Her skin looked made of porcin and her long eyshes were like natural decoration for her face.


    I looked at this girl without blinking even once during the short time she appeared on the screen.


    ''Man, if a goddess exists then she must look like her.'' I thought.


    Liu was by no means inferior to this girl called Neige in terms of beauty, but there was just something almost divine about her that was different from the vibe that Liu gave off.


    ''Still, it also makes her look unreal..." I said.


    As I was contemting this girl, the focus switched to a different person.


    The person wore a pure sister outfit, and her face was covered by a white veil.


    That was when things got weirder.

 Chapter 33 A Villainess?

    The moment I saw the Holy mother, I got goosebumps all other my body. It was as if something inside of me rejected the mere existence of this woman.


    The feeling was strong, almost suffocating, and even if I didn''t know anything about her, I understood that she was bad news.


    Her appearance made her look like she was the purest woman in this universe, but my intuition told me that there was something dark behind that veil covering her face.


    [I am sure that we will win ande out victorious against these monsters, but in order to reach that goal, we need to fight together.]


    After saying these words, The Emperor raised his right hand and shouted.


    [Glory to humanity! Glory to the Empire! God bless us!]


    The broadcast ended there, and my father had aplex look on his face.


    As for my mother, she didn''t say anything, but from her expression, I could tell that she was pondering about something. Well, I was never good at reading women.


    <o>,m Still, I was curious about that feeling I got when I saw the Holy Mother. It was a bit different from my usual reaction when I see a woman.</o>


    For example, when I saw that girl called Neige, I couldn''t help but feel that she was the most unreachable girl in this world.


    She lived in apletely different world, even though my social status was by no means low.


    If this was some kind of dating sim game, then she would be the hardest heroine to conquer, and in the case of a game with a female protagonist, then she would be the viiness.


    However, I perceid a faint feeling of humanity in her. I was not sure how to exin it, but even if she was emotionless, she looked like an emotionless human and not a robot.


    ''I am not sure why, but I am kind of attracted to these kinds of girls who have this sort of vibe. Maybe that''s why I am bad with other women?'' I thought.


    I was also curious about what that person said, concerning the fact that I needed to save a girl to save the world.


    ''Was he talking about this girl? And if so, why?,'' I thought, because I couldn''t find any rtion at all. ''Well, maybe I am just imagining things too...''


    The Holy Mother, on the other hand, was different. That person looked more like a lifeless robot than a human. Everything about her seemed perfect and inhuman. ''Well, I could only see her on the screen so maybe I was just thinking too much.''


    I didn''t even want to think that this woman might be the one that I needed to save.


    It was not I disliked older women, but it was a matter of feeling.


    While I was thinking about all of these things, my father sighed and looked at us. "I guess things will get more hectic from now," he said.


    "Don''t worry, I''m always here to take care of you," My mother said, looking at my father with a an expression that I had never seen before.


    "Marie¡­ The girl earlier was pretty but not as beautiful as you¡­"


    "Julius, you are such a charmer¡­"


    Then they began to chatter by themselves surrounded by a weird atmosphere almost as if hearts floated around them.


    I didn''t know what was going on, but I guessed that it was better to see them like this.


    As for me, I also had a lot of things to do and I didn''t have the time to sit around.


    I didn''t know if this action taken by the Empire was a good one or a bad one. Icked the information toe up with any kind of theory.


    ''However, I will determine my position in all of this by myself. But first, I need to explore all of the possibilities. Following blindly Cristal or anyone else will only lead to something that I might regret,'' I thought.


    There was also the possibility that I might be on the wrong side. This was just a possibility but it would be very stupid if I couldn''t figure out that I was among the bad guy from the beginning and I didn''t even know. ''Well, I doubt that such a scenario will take ce, but never say never.''


    "Cough! Cough¡­" I interrupted my parents in what they were doing and said something that surprised them. "I will take the entrance examination of the Holy Academy. However, I need to train and improve my skills, first, so I am going on a trip," I said, just like that.


    I was wondering about the best way to tell it to them, but in the end, I just went straight to the point.


    "A trip?" My father asked and looked at me with a puzzled look. "Where do you intend to go?"


    "I am going to find a legendary swordsman that could help me with my sword skills."


    "Really?" My father didn''t look convinced by these ideas. "Can''t you find someone here? There are a lot of talented instructors here."


    My father had a point, and I was also curious about why Cristal suggested I find this person in particr.


    I needed to find something that will convince my father. "Well, there is a¡­ abo move. Yes, an extremely powerfulbo move that only this master knows."<sub> </sub>


    "What''s abo move?" My father said, looking at me suspiciously.


    ''Oh, crap!''


    That was very stupid of me. I was so used to talking to Cristaltely, and I forgot that people here didn''t know the term that was used on earth.


    My mother saw that I had a hard time convincing my father so she helped me a bit. "Why don''t we let him go? It''s time for him to see the world by himself. Weren''t you the same when you were his age?"


    "Yeah, that''s why I am worried. There was also that incident¡­" My father replied, still unwilling.


    "I understand that you are worried, and I feel the same. However, we also need to trust him," My mother said, expressing her opinion and then looked at me. "As for you, please be sure to remember what I said and always act with prudence ."


    "Don''t worry, I will be careful," I said.


    Then my father asked a question.


    "And who''s going with you? Don''t tell me that you nned to go alone," he said, looking at me with an worried face.


    I wanted toe up with something credible to convince him. "Well, I have this friend of mine who knows where the master swordsman is."


    "You have a friend?!" Both my parents asked with a face that was more shocked than when they heard the Emperor''s announcement.


    Honestly, I didn''t expect them to be this shocked. "Ha-ha-ha¡­ Of course, I have a friend¡­"


    "Is this person a boy or a girl?"


    "What kind of person are they?"


    "Why didn''t you introduce them to us until now?"


    "Where do they live?"


    "Do we know their parents?"


    My parents bombarded me with questions that I didn''t even know what to say anymore.


    Tok! Tok!


    Before I could say anything, someone knocked at the door.


    "One of Lord Adam''s friends is here. She introduced herself as Cristal."


    After hearing one of the maid''s words, both of my parents had an excited look on their faces.


    ''Really, what''s up with them? And what is Cristal even doing? Did she find someone who agreed to pretend to be my friend?'' I was feeling a little bitplicated about all of this. ''Was I this helpless to need someone to pretend to be my friend?''


    Then they looked at each other and asked the same question again. "A girl?"


    After that they looked at me with teasing eyes and then as if nothing happened, they put up a serious look on their face and sat dignifiedly on their respective chairs.


    "Please let her in." My father said.


    At that moment, I was left speechless. Some things shocked me on that day, but what I saw gave me an extreme feeling of bewilderment.


    "It is an honor to be in your presence. My name is Cristal and I am Adam''s friend."


    Entering the door was a girl wearing a ck dress, one that those clothes that cosyers often wore. ''A full set of gothic lolita clothing? Eeeee? Who the hell is this girl?''


    The girl had purple hair and a bob-cut hairstyle. Her facial features were impably cute and she looked like a French doll, but she looked emotionless.


    "Look¡­ She is a cute girl."


    "Yeah. It seems like Adam was hiding something big this from us."


    My parents whispered to each other and ignored my reactionpletely.


    ''For real, who are you?!!'' I thought to myself.

 Chapter 34 Cristal’s New Look

    After seeing the doll-like Cristal entering the room, I seriously panicked.


    I stood up from where I sat and walked to Cristal. "Here you are, I was waiting for you. Let''s discuss our n now," I said, then, I looked at my parents who were eagerly waiting to talk with Cristal. "I''ve got this father. You don''t have to worry about anything at all. Cristal and I will handle everything, so you can look forward to the result of my training."


    I was feeling a little bit guilty after seeing them so excited, but I couldn''t let them talk with Cristal until I understood what exactly was happening.


    I was slowly heading towards the door as I said these words, and I signaled Cristal with my eyes to follow me without saying anything. "For now, we have something very important to discuss so you can talk with herter. Have a good day!"


    After that, I opened the door and dragged Cristal as quickly as possible to an isted ce.


    The act itself sounded extremely suspicious, but I know that I was dealing with an AI who somehow took the body of an innocent girl.


    I didn''t know how Cristal managed to do it, but it was certainly bad news if it were to be the case. I hoped that my theory was wrong.


    Then, I looked at the purple-haired girl in front of me and asked a question. "Hey, what the hell is going on? Don''t tell me that you brainwashed this girl."


    No emotions appeared on Cristal''s face, or the girl that was supposed to be her, even after hearing these words.


    "Master, this is just one of my abilities."


    After saying these words, Cristal''s body retracted and turned into her metallic cube-like form.


    [It''s nanotechnology.]


    My eyes widened after seeing what just happened.


    "Nanotechnology? Well, this the kind of cheap plot armor that the scriptwriter of A*engers used for Tonu Smark''s armor, isn''t it?"


    I couldn''t help but say these words when I was in front of the real thing.


    To bepletely honest, I didn''t even how nanotechnology worked, because it was still pure fantasy when I was back on earth. "Wait, wait. That doesn''t exin how you were able to transform into gothic lolita."


    [Master''s preference when ites to women was stored inside of my memory. In your memory, there was this file that you named ''Random stuff'' on yourputer, and inside it, there was¡­]


    "Waitttt!! I get it! I wasn''t talking about my preference! I was asking about what kind of ability you used exactly," I said in a overbearing tone, because  I didn''t want her to finish her sentence.


    ''How does she do to read the memory of my past life?'' I wondered. This was another question that I wanted to ask. ''But it will be a very long discussion, so I will skip it for now.''


    [Do you want me to exin nanotechnology? ording to the Oxford dictionary, it is the branch of technology that deals with dimensions and tolerances of less than 100 nanometers especially the maniption of individual atoms and molecules¡­]


    "Yeah, yeah¡­ That was a definition that I read too. Now, I forgot the point that I was trying to make and the question I was trying to ask. Everything was kind of clear all of sudden...." I mumbled in a low voice. "So you restructured molecules  and took the form of a human, based on my preference?"


    [Exactly. You are smart, master.]


    "Was that sarcasm?"


    Honestly, this was the kind of technology that I wanted to develop by myself aftering to this world. ''It''s kind of frustrating to see that it''spleted and I don''t know how it was done.''


    However, I couldn''t help but be concerned about how Cristal operated. "I know that you did that to help me, but seriously, the gothic lolita outfit and purple hair were too out of ce."


    Cristal must have been listening to our conversation from somewhere because I didn''t want to show her to my parent. Then, she decided to show up when I was in a pinch.


    [Is that so? If that is the case, then I need to make adjustments.]


    After saying these words, Cristal took the shape of a human once again.


    At first, she only looked like a mannequin, then details appeared: Her facial and body features, followed by her clothes.


    All of that was still metallic and colorless.


    Then, little by little, her skin turned pale and human-like. Her clothes looked like they were real after color appeared on them, and her hair was smooth as if they were authentic.


    Cristal didn''t have the gothic lolita look anymore and turned into a blond battle maid with ample bosom.


    I instantly recognized this character because she was one of my favorite. The thing is that this character came from, you know, a game reserved for adults.


    Well, this look was more appropriate if she wanted to move around. ''Huh? Why didn''t she do this the first time we met?'' I wondered.


    "Is this more appropriate?"


    "Cough, cough¡­ Yeah, I guess."<sub> </sub>


    After seeing her like that, I decided to dismiss all the questions rted to her transformation. I didn''t think they were that important.


    "Cough! Let''s talk about the trip now? What are we going to travel with? Should we look for a spaceship?" I asked.


    "No. It''s better if we fly there by ourselves."


    "What?"


    "I can make you fly."


    "Fly? Flying huh... Well, I guess that will do," I said, and I didn''t even want to ask about how she was able do that anymore.


    Stull, I was more and more dependent on Cristal. I didn''t have the choice but to admit that my strength, knowledge, and intelligence alone were still not enough to deal with all of what was happening.


    However, I made sure to remember that this was just temporary, and in the end, the one that I could depend on was none other than myself.


    As I was thinking about that, I remembered something. "Ah! You can''t change your hair color anymore because my parents will get suspicious."


    "Is that so?"


    "Yeah, just revert it to the previous color. They won''t mind your clothes, I guess."


    "I understand."


    Cristal''s hair color turned purple again.


    ''Mmmm¡­ This is not bad too,'' I thought to myself.


    Cristal was still emotionless as ever. "Master, let''s not waste time any further and immediately practice the use of your power."


    "Yeah, let''s do that."


    ording to Cristal, it will be easier to train if I can manage to control my power first.


    I agreed with her. It was the basis of the basics, and if I couldn''t even do that, then this universe might as well be doomed to disappear.


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    After Adam acted weirdly and left with that mysterious-looking girl, his parents began to theorize about what was happening.


    "Did you see his reaction?" Julius asked his wife.


    "Yes. There must be something going on. I can feel it," Marie answered.


    It was rare to see Adam acting that way. Most of the time, he looked mature andposed, and that was why his parents couldn''t help but find his reaction extremely interesting.


    "I was worried about him at some point because he didn''t seem interested in women at all¡­" Julius said, "but I guess he finally came to an age where he couldn''t ignore girls anymore. Hahaha."


    Marie chuckled at Julius''s words."He kind of reminds me of you when we first met."


    "How so? I wasn''t acting like that at all." Julius rebuked.


    Marie put her hand on her cheeks and closed her eyes as if remembering a memory that she cherished. "I can still remember how you shuttered when you tried to begin the conversation back then. You were adorable at that time."


    "Ah¡­!" Julius''s voice was stuck in his mouth and embarrassment appeared on his face for the first time in a while. "Cough! Cough! I was young back then. Well, as you suggested, I am going to trust Adam on this. I am not sure that such a master exists, but this trip will be beneficial to him, "he added.


    "I am d that you think that way. This will also show us what our son is capable of, and so we can find out what we can still help him with in the future." Marie replied.


    Adam loved his parents, but he wasn''t aware of how much these two cared about him.


    In his previous life, Adam almost forgot about how it felt when someone cared and loved him.


    He was a lonely person to the core, and at some point, he even lost understanding of what being lonely implied.


    Without him knowing it, this second life gifted him more significant things than he was already aware of.


    Unfortunately, sometimes, people only became aware of what they lost.

 Chapter 35 Training (Part 1)

    :::[ Adam''s POV]:::


    On the way to the training ground, I saw a familiar silhouette walking toward Cristal and me.


    ck hair, cold blue eyes, and a dazzling red dress. It was no other than Liu, and as usual, Verte was very attached to her.


    I thought that they left the already, but it seemed like they were still staying within the Castle.


    When I recognized that she was Liu, I took a deep breath and straightened my walking posture.


    This was an opportunity to talk with Liu again, and I didn''t want to leave any bad impression. "Good morning Miss Liu, I didn''t expect to see you here today," I said.


    "Good morning."


    Liu''s reply was as brief as usual, but at least, she stopped and didn''t ignore mepletely.


    "Baba¡­" After seeing me, Verte reached her little hands towards me. She was as adorable as always.


    "Can I hold her?" I said, looking at Liu.


    Liu handed Verte to me, and soon as she did, Verte attached to my body like a sloth.


    "I am happy to see you too," I said while stroking Verte''s head.


    Then I looked at Liu, but she wasn''t looking at me and Verte. Instead, her eyes were fixated on Cristal who was next to me.


    Ipletely forgot that Cristal was not in her cube-like form anymore, and so, I needed to treat her like a normal human.


    "Miss Liu, this is Cristal. She is my¡­ my assistant," I said, introducing Cristal, and she bowed elegantly like a genuine maid.


    I was quite impressed by her acting skills.


    "Cristal, this is Miss Liu, the one who saved my life," I said, introducing Liu properly.


    "It''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, "Cristal said, looking as emotionless as ever.


    Then Liu also replied briefly, without a trace of change in her expression. "Likewise."


    I couldn''t help but smile awkwardly looking at these two emotionless women starting at each other.


    "Cough. So, are you looking for something Miss Liu?" I asked.


    "Nothing in particr."


    "Haha, I see. Well, I was on my way to train a little bit when I coincidentally came across you here."


    I was trying to keep the conversation going, but honestly, it was extremely hard for someone like me who had limited experience with women.


    "Training?" Liu asked. It seemed like she was a bit interested in what I said.


    I was a little relieved to know that she was listening. After all, no one could tell just by looking at her if she was listening or just looking at something behind the speaker.


    "Yes. I need to get stronger so that I can perform well during the Holy Academy''s entrance exam," I said.


    I was very talkative all of sudden. I couldn''t help but feel like I needed to talk, otherwise, Liu would just stand there without saying anything.


    This was a situation that experienced rarely, because most of the time, I was the one listening.


    After hearing my answer, Liu stayed quiet for a few seconds before replying.


    "Can I watch?" She asked.


    That was a question that I didn''t expect to hear, so I didn''t know what to say.


    I nced at Cristal but she wasn''t of any help with her emotionless face.


    I didn''t know what Liu expected to see, but it seemed like she was interested in my training, or precisely, my power.


    This was a delicate matter, as Liu was more powerful than me, so if she saw my actual level, then she might immediately understand my weaknesses, as well as my strong points, which could be very troublesome if things took a bad turnter.


    ''Maybe I am just too pessimistic¡­ Well, it''s not like she will know about everything, so I guess it''s fine. It will be bad for future rtions too if I turn her down now... And I need to figure out her intentions in one way or another,'' I thought.


    To be honest, I felt that there was a little bit of chance that Liu and I could develop a certain form of friendship.


    Maybe I was just too optimistic, but I didn''t want to discard this hope. After all, nothing will happen even if I just waited.


    "Fine, you can watch Miss Liu. I don''t think there''s anything special about it, so if you are watching, can you give me your opinion after?" I said. This was an opportunity to hear the opinion of an actual high-level gift holder, so I didn''t miss the chance to ask her opinion.


    Liu looked like she didn''t expect my answer. She didn''t show any expression, but there was a little pause before she answered.<sub> </sub>


    "Alright."


    After that, the four of us headed toward the training ground.


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    Adam and Cristal arrived at the training ground, followed by Liu and Verte.


    People who trained in the area got surprised by Liu''s appearance, but then it turned into excitement.


    Some people became nervous after seeing Liu and were beaten up by their partners. Others tried to show off their skills and their muscles by roughly swinging their swords, or by fighting multiple dummy monsters at the same time; some just stood there and drooled.


    However, the center of all this attention, the Forst Queen Liu, didn''t take her eyes away from Adam.


    Some people were not happy about this fact, but they couldn''tin, knowing that would be ice cubes if they did.


    Unlike what Adam believed, Liu was extremely curious about him and the woman that he introduced as his assistant. She just had a permanent poker face, so there was no way for him to guess her real thoughts correctly.


    ''Does she know something?'' Liu asked herself.


    She wanted to observe what exactly was Adam''s power, and what kind of training he was doing. She might even find some clues leading her to the truth.


    She didn''t ask Adam directly, because if she was wrong and Adam wasn''t what she thought he was, then it would be troublesome.


    She wanted to understand what was happening and then wait for the time to test Adam herself.


    After all, Liu was very prideful and preferred to wait as long as it took, rather than deal with a humiliating situation.


    And when Adam began his training, Liu was surprised yet again and some of her questions were answered, but she was also faced with more enigmas.


    ''Who is this woman? Why is she the one giving Adam instructions?'' Liu wondered.


    From Liu''s point of view, Cristal looked like she was hiding something behind that poker face of hers.


    Liu herself hide many things behind that poker face and sometimes that fake smile, so she was a little bit warry of Cristal.


    Cristal asked Adam to gather several fire stones ( a type of mana stone that generated fire), activate them, and then ce them around him.


    Anyone could activate these power stones as long as they could control primordial particles, and so these stones were used to illuminate the dark during nighttime.


    Adam was now surrounded by mes, but Liu didn''t understand the point of all of that.


    "Now let''s try your first technique: ''Neutralization.''" Cristal said.


    Adam nodded, and suddenly all of the mes around him extinguished.


    Liu couldn''t help but get surprised by this. ''What happened?''


    This was the first time Liu saw Adam''s power in action because when Adam used it on these hunters, she couldn''t see anything. ''What kind of gift is this? It is certainly a particr type of gift, but I have never heard about something like this.''


    "Gugugu!!"


    Unlike Liu who was theorizing about the nature of Adam''s power, Verte became very lively looking at Adam.


    Focused on the training, Adam and Cristal almost forgot about the existence of Liu and Verte.


    Instead, they continued to the next step. "Great. Now let''s move to the second technique: ''Barrier.'' During this training, not a single fire stone inside of your barrier should stop generating fire; and when you can do that, I will use this mana gun to fire at you to see if you managed to put up a barrier or not. It''s not lethal, but it will hurt so be ready." Cristal said, holding a man''s gun in her hand. She created it by manipting some of her molecules.


    "I understand," Adam replied.


    Liu was bewildered to see how much Adam trusted Cristal. It was as if a master was training her disciple.


    However, Cristal was supposed to be Adam''s assistant so there was something odd about it, or so Liu thought.


    Also, there was Adam''s power which appeared more and more out of the ordinary. ''Is this some kind of gift that can absorb elemental power or can cancel them somehow? If that is the case, then I must keep an eye on this boy.''


    Liu was now half sure that Adam was not a normal fifteen years old boy.


    However, if it wasn''t for Verte, then Liu wouldn''t have discovered this fact.


    After all, if a clueless bystander looked at what Adam was doing, then all they could see was a fifteen years old boy who was ying with fire.


    Nevertheless, Liu was still clueless about what Adam''s true identity was, and she still couldn''t find out the reason why Verte wanted to find Adam.

 Chapter 36 Training (Part 2)

    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    I was feeling a little bit pressured by Liu''s gaze, and there was also the fact that she attracted more attention than necessary.


    Despite all of that, I needed to focus on my training, so I convinced myself that all this pressure was also a form of training in itself.


    Cristal''s instructions were clear, simple, and effective as always.


    "I understand, I will try," I said but I didn''t expect things to turn extremely irritating so fast.


    The second step consisted of using my power as some kind of barrier.


    ording to Cristal, this will reduce the percentage of primordial particles consumed, so I wouldn''t waste my strength needlessly in the future.


    What I had to do was simple: I needed to make sure that the fire generated by the stone around me didn''t get neutralized.


    To do that, I had to control my power so that only ayer would appear around me.


    Also, I had to make sure it flowed out from a single point, for example, my hand, and not the whole body.


    Yes, in theory, it was extremely simple, but when I put it into practice, it became extremely hard.


    However, this was something that I needed to master before I could do something else.


    Honestly, it was very tedious and very tiring.


    No matter how many times I tried, the fire got extinguished whenever I try to activate my power.


    The fact that I couldn''t see my power didn''t help at all.


    I tried to close my eyes and tried to focus all of my senses on my finger, just so that I could feel somethinging out of it.


    Yet, I couldn''t feel anything at all, and instead, my power overflowed out of my body like always.


    I repeated the same thing, one time two times, fifty times¡­ and the result was the same.


    It didn''t evenst fifteen minutes, and I was already out of strength.


    I didn''t even use my power that much, but it was clear that it was not an absolute authority for nothing.


    My power consumed a lot of energy and primordial particles.


    I knew that it was strange for a mere mortal like me to hold such a power, but still, this was extremely inconvenient.


    I was panting heavily and I couldn''t even stand straight.


    My eyes felt heavy and my head ached as if I got amnesia.


    "Why? Why I can''t do it?"


    I understood what I needed to do, it was simple, and it was not like this power was something that I acquired recently, but still couldn''t do it.


    There was nothing more frustrating that not being able to do something that you thought will be easy to do.


    I wanted to be overpowered already. ''Why can''t I just use all of my power? I could destroy all of the enemies easily that way. All of this was bing a big annoying.''


    I wanted to take a break already. I was even wondering if all of this was necessary. Maybe I should just go and learn some sword skills, or I could even go to the Empire and eliminate all of the threats one by one.


    Still, I knew that I shouldn''t think that way. However, it was hard to face the reality and go through the hardships, even though I already know that I will earn something from it.


    As I was losing motivation, an emotionless yet charming voice brought me back to reality.


    "Master, I will shoot you now."


    Cristal pointed the mana gun at me even though I was on the verge of passing out.


    "What? But I can not put up a barrier yet."


    "Don''t worry, it''s part of the training. You might be able to understand the theory, but sometimes, other elements are needed. For example, this gun, and I increased the firepower so it will hurt," Cristal said.


    Seriously, Cristal was a little bit freaky when she was in this form. I only saw the positive side of her transformation that I forgot that there were always drawbacks. Now, she could fire a gun at me with ease, and without having any once of emotion on her face.


    "Wait, wait¡­. Let me take a little break."


    Bam!


    "Gah!"


    Crustal shot my left shoulder without much of a warning, and she said that it will hurt, but it hurt like hell.


    "Guaaaaa!" I screamed in pain.


    This was no training, this was some kind of torture.


    "Now, use your power, master. Otherwise, you''ll get hurt."


    "The hell? I am out of strength¡­ I need a break, I tell you¡­"


    "Really?"


    Bam!


    "Guaa! What the hell? I told you to stop that¡­" I screamed in pain.


    Cristal shot my thigh and rolled around the ground in pain.


    "It is so easy, so you are probably asking yourself why you can''t do it. Then you think that it''s not that important, so you will ask me to skip it. But we can''t do that, master. Everything needs to begin from the basic."


    Bam!


    "Guaah! I got it! So stop this!" I shouted in anger.<sub> </sub>


    "Are you angry? Look at you, helplessly screaming in pain. Weren''t you going to save the world, master?"


    "Why are you bringing that up now? Isn''t this supposed to be training?"


    "Every urrence in life is a training, as long as survive long enough to learn something from it, master. Erase the idea that you will give it your all, only when you are in front of the real thing."


    Bam!


    "Guaah!"


    It was extremely frustrating and I was pissed off by what was happening. Crustal didn''t mince her words nor did she pull her punches.


    "Don''t you think that now is the time to give it everything you got? Because if you think that I will stop shooting you after a while then you are mistaking master." Cristal said, without showing any emotion on her face.


    I looked at Cristal as she was looking down at me with these purple eyes. Then I understood that she waspletely serious.


    "Don''t disappoint me, master."


    Bam!


    "Guahh!"


    Cristal was serious about training me, and I thought that she would always use the most effective method.


    So, I didn''t understand why I needed to go through all of this pain.


    ''Was this even effective at all?''


    I just needed time, and I would be able to do it sooner orter.


    Bam!


    "Just stop already!" I screamed, however, there was no pain.


    "Congrattions, master. You did it. It was for a few seconds, but you managed to create a barrier even though you thought you depleted all of your strength."


    Cristal put away the gun and looked at me while exining what happened.


    "If you used all of your power, then you would have passed out, master. However, you didn''t. So that means that there is still a little bit left and you used that to block my shot." Cristal exined.


    I didn''t quite understand what she was trying to say.


    "Sometimes, the most effective way to understand something is to do it first. Now, all you need is to remember that feeling, and then you will understand little by little."


    "But I didn''t feel anything."


    "Maybe. But the fact that you blocked my shoot remains. All you need now is to try to remember everything through your body and not your mind. Don''t fear the pain, but ept that this was unavoidable if you want to get stronger. You need to give it your everything, otherwise, this training will be worthless."


    I finally understood what Cristal wanted to achieve. She wanted me to use all of my power first and then put me in a tricky situation where I needed to choose between getting hurt or passing out from exhaustion.


    The fear of passing out kept me from trying to use my power again because I thought that it might be dangerous for my body.


    Then when I couldn''t bear the pain anymore, I subconsciously used thest bit of strength to create a thin barrier around my body.


    Still, the process was very frustrating and painful.


    "I understand. Sorry, I lost myposure."


    I stood up and tidied my clothes. I was almost on the verge of reverting to the old me again.


    Changing myself and my attitude was more challenging than I thought.


    Now that my strength was extremely limited, I could only generate a thin barrier.


    This was what Cristal wanted to show me.


    All I need to was to remember this feeling even when I recover all of my strengthter.


    I learned two things from this training.


    Firstly, I wasn''t used to pain even though the battle ahead of me will be more powerful.


    Secondly, learning the basics was harder than it seemed.


    While thinking about these things, I closed my eyes and activated my power.


    My entire body was in pain, but I tried with all my might to focus only on my hand, and after a while, I could feel a different sensation other than pain.


    It was very faint, but something was leaking out of my hand. I could feel it wrapping around my hand and then I slowly manipted it to form a sphere around me.


    It was very faint but very easy to manipte unlike how it overflowed out of my body before. No wonder I couldn''t control it this way when I was at my full power.


    After all, it was invisible and I was so familiar with it for being only a power that worked in a very basic way, so it was difficult for me to control it at a granr level.


    "I finally did it!" I shouted happily and felt satisfied with what I had achieved.


    I immediately slumped down to the ground, but there was a smile of satisfaction on my face.


    I was so exhausted, but I felt like it was worth it.


    When I look back at what I just achieved. It sounded extremely simple and easy.


    "Now you just need more practice to perfect your control," Cristal said.


    "Hahaha¡­ It still hurts though. You don''t know how to hold back." Iined.


    "Gugugu!"


    "Ah." Ipletely forgot about Cristal and Verte who were sitting nearby.

 Chapter 37 Different Point Of View

    At first, Liu didn''t understand the point of Adam''s training or what Cristal wanted to achieve.


    From the moment Adam stood in the middle of these mes, Liu analyzed every detail about him, such as his facial expressions, his muscles, his breathing patterns, his footwork, his posture, etc¡­


    Consequently, Liu could tell that Adam was an amateur,cked experience, and hadn''t even mastered the basics.


    It was clear he had never been in a fight against a real bloodthirsty monster.


    Liu expected something like sword training or fighting practice, however, the boy in front of her repeated one seemingly useless action over and over again. He activated the fire stones then the mes got suddenly extinguished, but then, he activated them one by one again.


    ''What exactly is he trying to achieve? Is this training rted to his gift? It doesn''t sound that special,'' Liu thought.


    She wanted to see what Adam''s training was about so that she would find some clues about Adam''s true potential, but the scene in front of her was just too boring almost a little bit irritating.


    She wanted to ask Adam directly to tell her everything but it would raise unwarranted suspicion. It was more beneficial to not destroy Adam''s current image of her if she considered her real goals.


    There was also Cristal who looked like she was observing her.


    ''This woman is not an ordinary maid¡­'' Liu concluded.


    From their exchange, it was clear that Adam listened to Cristal more than anyone else.


    Their rtionship was still unclear, but it was sure that it was beyond a simple ''maid and her master'' kind of rtionship.


    After all, it was Cristal who gave the instructions and Adam followed them, although she was supposed to be an assistant.


    Nheless, Liu began to doubt Cristal''s ability when she saw that Adam was on the verge of getting bored at his turn.


    ''This method that she chose seems to be very inefficient. Did I overestimate her?'' She thought to herself.


    No matter how she looked at it, Adam was not making any progress at all.


    Liu was thinking about leaving and then reevaluating the situation, because if this was Adam''s level at the moment, then this matter didn''t require her immediate attention.


    She looked at Adam for thest time, and he looked like he was about to pass out without even achieving anything.


    ''This was a waste of time¡­''


    But when Liu was about to leave, something unexpected happened.


    Cristal approached Adam and Bam! She shot at him with a gun.


    ''What?''


    Even the usually expressionless Liu squinted her eyes.


    Adam screamed in pain and shouted, but Bam! Cristal shot him again.


    At first, Liu wanted to stop Cristal, but after listening to what Cristal said to Adam, she finally understood what Cristal wanted to do.


    ''This is¡­''


    At that moment, a face appeared inside of her mind. A presence that brought her to her knees no matter how prideful she was.


    Every time she thought she needed to rx, this face reminded her that failure was never an option.


    This kind of method reminded her of that person.


    No matter how painful it was, no matter how hard it was, no matter how many wounds she had on her body, she wasn''t allowed to stop until she achieved what that person considered slightly above average.


    And even after all of that pain, she didn''t even earn one praise from that person.


    All he said was: ''Don''t disappoint me like your brother. Even if he was a thousand times more talented than you, he is now worthless. You''recking potentialpared to him, but at least you didn''t disappoint me yet.''


    Liu red at Cristal because even if it was true that the method used by that person made her strong, it was a very twisted one.


    However, when she was about to make her move, Cristal congratted Adam and put away her gun.


    Adam also stood up from the ground with a more determined face, and a more rxed attitude, unlike how he looked just a few moments before.


    Then Adam reached his hand and closed his eyes.


    Liu couldn''t see, nor feel, anything happening, but suddenly, Adam shouted with a big smile on his face.


    "I finally did it!"


    This one statement left Liu confused. ''What? What happened? Did I miss something?''


    Adam showed a satisfied expression on his face, one that only people who were satisfied with their achievements could wear.<sub> </sub>


    Liu certainly didn''t appreciate the method Cristal use, but after seeing the result, it was clear that Cristal was always thinking about Adam and trusted him.


    Adam was a human with emotions, and he needed more than just words to improve.


    What Adam achieved on that day didn''t appear to be that great an achievement, but it was a big step toward the next level of his existence, and the results of this kind of mentality would be apparent soon.


    Even if Liu didn''t know about all of that, she still admitted that she was mistaken about the purpose of Adam''s training.


    ''Maybe I was thinking like that person¡­ I judged these two too quickly.''


    Liu had some guesses about what happened, but she didn''t find out about what Adam achieved, not the importance of this achievement in the future.


    Liu''s opinion about Adam improved a lot, seeing how he was always trying to be a better version of himself bit by bit, even if it was not an easy thing to do.


    Liu knew more than anyone else that even if people be strong, they don''t necessarily be better people. Instead, most of the strong people that she knew were the worst of all.


    Cristal''s ability to understand the human part of Adam, which was at the same time a weakness and a good quality impressed her.


    It was clear that Adam would be a formidable man with someone like her by his side.


    Liu couldn''t help but smile a bit when she saw how satisfied Adam looked even though he looked miserable not a while ago.


    Still, it was time to test Adam seriously.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    Cristal looked at me with her unchanging expression. "We will stop here for today, master."


    Even if she didn''t say that, I waspletely exhausted and my entire body hurt like hell.


    I couldn''t move and justid down on the ground.


    To think that this was nothingpared to my mother''s when these mad beasts attacked her.


    I almost forgot about this fact just because I had this power.


    ''If I want to follow the path that I intended to follow, then I will have to go through a lot of pain. There was only two option left for me now: Whether I be strong or I break apart. This is no joke.''


    Honestly, I just wanted to use my power to eliminate every obstacle in front of me. However, when I thought that I needed to go through a lot of frustrating, boring, and irritating situations before I could even have a slim chance to use my full power, I lose motivation.


    But when I think about what happened today, about that feeling when I achieved something due to my efforts, I realized that it was worth it.


    I was also surprised by how Cristal handled the situation. ''Is she just an android?''


    "Gugugu!"


    Verte''s words were still iprehensible, but I could see her cheerful expression while looking at me.


    Then I could also see Liu''s face looking at me.


    Her face was illuminated by the sunlight and her hair glinted as it waved back and forth under the soft wind.


    For the first time, the first first time after I made Liu''s acquaintance, I saw a change in her expression.


    It was only for a brief, extremely short moment, but she had a smile on her face before returning to her usual expressionless self.


    The sunlight yed an important part, but at that moment, her face was just too morous and almost ephemeral. A little bit different from the cold beauty vibe that she usually exhibited.


    Then I realized that I was staring at her too much, so I quickly said something.


    "So, how was it? I mean, what can you say about my training?" I asked.


    Liu''s expression didn''t change, but there was a little pause before she answered.


    "You haven''t mastered the basics yet," she said and answer was brief as always, but I was d that she watched and answered.


    However, I already knew that I needed to learn the basic skills and I intended to do that as soon as possible. This was a training to learn the basic use of my power, so it must have looked useless from an outsider''s point of view.


    "Yes, I know. I intend to go on a trip and learn from a master swordsman," I replied.


    "A trip?!"


    Unexpectedly, Liu reacted to the word trip even though she kept her usual emotionless face.


    ''Is she interested?'' I thought. As I expected, she seemed to be observing me somehow.

 Chapter 38 Intentions

    :::[Third person POV]:::


    ''He is going on a trip?'' Liu was taken aback by what Adam said because It would be a problem if she couldn''t test him before he left.


    Liu''s visit was supposed to be a quick detour, and she intended to return to the Empire immediately after she finished assessing the situation, but if Adam went on a trip, then she wouldn''t have the choice but to leave this matter for another time.


    In the first ce, it was hard to find an efficient way to gauge Adam''s ability without an all-out fight.


    After all, it was unlikely for Adam to tell her everything out of nowhere.


    For now, she needed to find out how to take advantage of this unexpected situation, or so she thought.


    "Training¡­ Are you looking for a master?" She asked.


    As for Adam, he sounded quite pleased to see that Liu talked more than usual. "Yes, I heard that this person is a legendary master."


    Truth be told, Liu was just bad at dealing with people. All she could do was use her fist to test someone, but she didn''t expect Adam to be quite mature in certain aspects.


    She thought that Adam would be no different from a 15-year-old kid from the Empire who liked to show off their power, and so, would be easy to deal with.


    ''There must be something¡­oh, I know,'' Liu thought to herself.


    If Adam wanted to go somewhere, then he would need a ship, and if viewed from a more optimistic point of view, this trip was in a way an opportunity to test him without attracting unwanted attention.


    This was a very odd reaction on Liu''s part. Most of the time she wouldn''t give that much thought to such a trivial matter.


    Yet, at that moment, her mind was full of questions rted to Adam. She wasn''t aware of it but she was interacting with Adam more than she would normally do with any other male.


    "Interesting. I want to see this master too¡­ I have a ship, so I can bring you there if you want," Liu said.


    Her expression didn''t change but what she said was extremely shocking, mostly for Adam.


    Of course, some of the thoughts that crossed his mind were just his delusion, but still, it was very unexpected.


    First of all, she spoke for more than ten seconds, and she also invited Adam to go with her in a very awkward way.


    It created a very awkward atmosphere between the two of them.


    This was something that Liu would never do if it was someone else, but there was the mysterious baby who never approached anyone else apart from Liu and Adam.


    This little fact was one of the key elements that made Liu drop her guard a little bit when she was with Adam.


    Still, what Liu said didn''t make sense at all. There was no reason for Liu to go with Adam even if she wanted to meet this master. After all, Adam and her just meet two days ago.


    Cristal was suspicious of Liu''s intention and Adam became wary of Liu''s motive too, but if Liu was a bad person, he thought, then Verte wouldn''t act that way with her.


    After all, Verte was so attached to Liu, so Adam deduced that at least for Verte, Liu was a trustworthy person.


    Regardless, Adam wasn''t stupid, and even if he wanted to get closer to Liu, he didn''t ept right away.


    "That''s very unexpecteding from you, Miss Liu. Let me think about it a little. I will give you an answerter. As you can see, I need to recover a bit."


    For the first time in a very long time, Liu felt slightly embarrassed.


    Most of the time, people wouldn''t even think twice before epting such an invitation.


    Yet, Adam''s answer was mature and very logical.


    The circumstances were not that special, but Liu exchanged words with a boy for a certain amount of time.


    Both of them were very awkward because they didn''t have much experience with someone of the opposite sex, even if it was just a casual conversation.


    "I understand."


    Liu didn''t stay any longer after saying these words, and so she left with Verte. She knew that Adam would be suspicious of her, but she thought that rather than using an underhanded method, it would be more effective to challenge Adam more directly.


    However, such a tactic would be difficult to execute if Adam wasn''t willing to take the challenge seriously.


    Adam felt a little bit conflicted as he saw Liu walking away.


    *****


    :::[Adam POV]:::


    ''What just happened?''


    I couldn''t help but rethink everything that Liu said.


    First of all, her voice was extremely delicate and beautiful. That was one thing.


    However, I was surprised that she offered to bring me to where I wanted to go, more or less out of the blue.


    ''What is she trying to achieve? Don''t tell me that she is interested in me and wants to spend more time alone with me¡­Nope, impossible. It must be something else,'' I thought to myself and tried to keep my images as realistic as possible.<sub> </sub>


    Nheless, I needed to think seriously about what I was going to answer from here.


    ''I might not meet Liu again if I refuse her invitation now, but I might fall into some kind of trap too if I just epted it like that. Still, would someone, who wants to use an underhanded trick, invite me in such a direct manner?''


    I wasn''t sure what was her true intention.


    I theorized that maybe she wants to recruit me to join her faction because from what I found out about her, she was from a very influential family.


    However, there were also more questions rted to that theory.


    ''If that was the case, does that mean that she just traveled to this just to meet me?''


    Of course not, I didn''t think that I was that important. Still, if I supposed that this was the case, then, there must be some information that she knew about me and my situation.


    ''The question is what does she know?''


    As I was lost in my thoughts Cristal approached me.


    "Let''s head back master."


    I nced at Cristal''s emotionless face. I was wondering what she thought about this situation. "Cristal, what do you think Liu''s intentions are?"


    "I can''te up with a definite answer to that question, for now, because of theck of information. Master, what do you think of her?"


    "Me? I think that she is a very attractive person," I answered honestly.


    "I was not talking about that. Do you think you can trust her?" She asked.


    As we talked, Cristal helped me to stand up because I felt dizzy and exhausted.


    Depleting my reserve of primordial particles was undoubtedly a very bad idea. I needed to be careful in the future, mostly when fighting monsters.


    Cristal''s question was really direct, and I didn''t have a definite answer to this question yet at that moment.


    "I am not sure, but from what I could see, she is not a bad person," I said, thinking back about Verte.


    "I see."


    Cristal and I walked back to my room, and she supported me on the way.


    It was a little bit embarrassing because people were ring at us, but there was nothing I could do. I needed to ept the fact that sometimes I was weak, and needed to depend on other people.


    It was not a bad feeling to know that someone got your back, but I couldn''t spare any effort in bing strong because of that.


    When we arrived inside my room, Cristal reverted to her cube-like form for some reason.


    As for me, I immediately slumped down on my bed after a quick shower.


    I didn''t realize that it was already past noon, and I was hungry.


    Cristal and I continued to talk about what to answer to Liu''s invitation and also about the training and stuff rted to the trip.


    [You are smarter than I thought you were, master. You managed to learn the basic control of your power in just one day.]


    Cristalplimented me, but from what she said, I was wondering how exactly she evaluated me all of this time.


    "I don''t know, I felt like it could have been done more easily," I said, looking back at how slow I was at figuring out certain things.


    To be honest, I wouldn''t have been able to do it if Cristal didn''t use that kind of method.


    It was very painful and frustrating, but fortunately, it was something that I required to change my mentality.


    [Maybe, but the most important thing is that you learned something new today. From tomorrow onward, you will focus on practicing your control while swinging your sword.]


    "Yeah, I understand," I said.


    I was thinking about my immediate goals again as I chewed a piece of meat.


    Firstly, I needed to learn the basic control of my power, then find this mysterious master, andstly, learn decent sword skills.


    However, there was Liu who wanted toe with me, and her intention was still unidentified.


    There was also a question that I had been curious about for a long time now. "Cristal, why did you suggest this master in particr?"


    [ording to a certain story, this master was a giftless person. However, he used some other methods to make up for it. What we are interested in is this technique. Master, your power is absolute, but it is more for self-defense than for battle. That is why you need something to make up for it. After all, you can''t win a fight if you don''t deliver a decisive blow. ]


    "I see. You are right, I realized that too."


    It was fortunate that such a master was currently on this.

 Chapter 39 I Decide For Myself From Here

    [Master, are you going to ept Miss Liu''s offer?]


    The atmosphere turned serious as soon as Cristal spoke these words.


    If viewed from an outsider''s point of view, this matter rted to Liu''s invitation was nothing more than trivial.


    After all, it was just a trip, and Liu was the one who generously invited me. She was even a little bit awkward about it.


    If that was just an act, then it was an Oscar-worthy one.


    However, if this was a trap, and her intentions were malicious, then I had to deal with her sooner orter.


    I want to believe that Miss Liu was not my enemy, and that was why I needed to know her true motives.


    "Yes, I will ept and I will ask her directly. And If she is someone sent by the Holy Church to deal with me, then I don''t have any other choice¡­"


    Cristal floated beside me and her voice was as emotionless as ever.


    [Are you going to kill her?]


    "I hope not."


    Cristal''s words were straight to the point.


    If Liu was someone from the Holy Church sent to eliminate me, then I wouldn''t have the choice but to eliminate her and erase the evidence.


    ? This was certainly not a topic that woulde up in casual talk usually. However, due to my particr situation, getting familiar with all of the dark themes the sooner was for the better because  I would certainly need to deal with them often in a near future.


    To be honest, I was not calm orfortable at all when thinking about that. However, this world was not merciful enough to spare someone who wasn''t ready to do everything to protect their own life.


    I realized that in this world, even if you didn''t do anything at all, you could still die anytime.


    [You have changed a little bit, Master. But it''s still a change.]


    "Yeah¡­ The old me would have never tried to take such a risk. After all, who knows how many people I will have to kill if this is a trap. I don''t even want to think about it. This is a new reality that I need to ept, but it is hard for someone like me¡­"


    [You can easily win against fifty or hundreds of low-level gift holders if you can control your power, master. And I doubt that there are high-level gift holders apart from Liu, and maybe her direct entourage. The chance for you to win is not that low.]


    "That''s not my point¡­" I mumbled.


    It looked like Cristalpletely missed my point.


    Well, I didn''t expect her topletely understand my feelings. She was already more than just a great help to me.


    Nevertheless, the thought of killing people was something that I will never get used to. I didn''t want to kill needlessly.


    But if I was asked between killing my enemy or dying killed by them, then the answer was clear.


    Sometimes I was worried about my mental state. I didn''t know if was forcing myself too much to follow the pace of the changes happening around me.


    Too much happened in just a few days, and I felt like I changed too. Still, I wanted to go change for the better and not be devoured by this pressure. And I didn''t want to die until I got an ending that I was satisfied with.


    "Don''t worry. I was given a third chance, so I won''t die that easily."


    After that time when I was poisoned, I became extremely careful, and Cristal was a big help.


    Every time I ate something, I asked Cristal to analyze the ingredients mixed in, or I would cook myself.


    Also, I always check my room because there might be a bomb or someone somewhere inside it. I always made sure to talk quietly even when I was alone with Cristal.


    For all I know, there was someone who was watching me from somewhere. I needed to be on my guard even if everything felt normal.


    ording to Cristal, she intercepted a very concerning transmission that rted to that maid''s death.


    I needed to be on my guard all of the time, but Cristal suggested that I shouldn''t change my behavior.


    So every time I go outside, I always put on a fake face. I must look like the na?ve young Lord, who tried to be mature for his age.


    After all, this was the most effective way to fool people. They would never think that I was just being myself, a 45-year-old guy inside.


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    "Really?"


    Marie and Julius almost had the same reaction after listening to Adam.


    It was still early in the morning but their eyes were already wide open, not because they are something weird, but because of the person sitting beside Adam.<sub> </sub>


    "Yes, I was the one who asked him," Liu said with her expressionless face.


    Adam told his parents he was going on this trip aboard Liu''s ship. He also exined where he needed to go and what he will do there. However, He didn''t tell them about the legendary technique and kept that information to himself.


    This was an unexpected situation even for his parents.


    ''How did he manage to convince Miss Liu?''


    Both of them asked the same question inside their head almost at the same time.


    They weren''tpletely convinced that Liu offered to travel with Adam for no reason. Instead, they thought that Adam used some kind of method to convince her.


    "With this, everything else should proceed smoothly. I still have to train so I will excuse myself for now." Adam said as he stood up from where he sat, "I will talk with you againter, Miss Liu." He added.


    "All right," Julius replied, half impressed. He didn''t anticipate this turn of events which he found a bit interesting.


    After Adam left, Julius also left because it was no mystery that he was still overloaded with work just by looking at his face. He was just there to spend time with his family and listen to what Adam had to say.


    The men left the room and only Marie, Liu, and verte stayed behind.


    Verte was still eating something so Liu wanted her to finish slowly.


    Still, Adam was a little bit inconsiderate when it came to these things.


    Liu and Marie never talked to each other before, and Liu was a little bit ufortable.


    Marie was looking at Liu as she took a sip from her cup.


    "Miss Liu, this infant seems to be extremely attached to you. Is she yours?" Marie asked with an unwavering smile on her face.


    "No, she isn''t."


    Liu answered briefly, but Marie was more experienced than her when it came to holding a conversation so she didn''t mind.


    "So, what do you think about my son?" Marie asked.


    It seemed like the first question was just a hook and this was the main topic. Unlike before, Marie talked in a more friendly way.


    This was a question that Liu didn''t expect. What did she think about Adam? For her, Adam was interesting and a little bit unpredictable.


    But was there something other than that? Only God knew the real answer to this question because she wasn''t the kind of person whopletely understood her feelings¡­ There was also the possibility that it was just the above-mentioned impressions, and she thought nothing else of him.


    "He is interesting," Liu answered.


    Marie reacted to Liu''s answer. It looked like she found this kind of answer a little bit intriguing.


    "He is also a man," Marie said almost whispering. No one knows what she meant by that, but she


    She didn''t borate any further and instead invited Liu to walk around the Royal garden.


    Liu was a bit curious about this garden and epted.


    After that, the two of them spent time together, talking about the girl''s topic and enjoying the scenery.


    Liu enjoyed Marie''spany. She didn''t remember her mother, but at that moment, she thought that if her mother was still alive then they would have talked like this.


    *****


    "You''ve found no clues?" Julius asked.


    "Yes, there was nothing and no one saw anyone suspicious," the soldier replied.


    Julius was listening to one of the soldiers who was tasked to find some clues about Josephina''s murder but there was nothing.


    Josephina talked about something extremely concerning, and Julius ordered a few experts to investigate this matter thoroughly but there were no clues anywhere.


    ording to the report, however, Josephina had a particr gift that gave her the ability to conceal herself, but she was was supposed to be only a level 2 gift holder.


    Also, she had a daughter who was training to be a sister.


    There were the only important pieces of information that Julius could find about Josephina. Everything else was perfectly normal and she was admired and respected by the people working inside the castle.


    So the question was, when? When did these people manage to get in contact with her? And what did they do to her?


    These were the questions that were on Julius''s mind.


    Still, there was also work rted to rebuilding andpensation so he was extremely busy.

 Chapter 40 A Step Forward

    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    Thesest few days I had a lot of things to do.


    I epted Liu''s offer but I still needed to finish learning the basic control of my power, so I asked her to wait a few days.


    Of course, I trained at the training ground, but that was just basic training. When I was using my power, I trained privately.


    I adopted this method to hide my true ability from those who were watching in the shadow.


    Everything was going smoothly, but it was still boring and almost frustrating. I could feel that I made some progress, but it was never enough so I needed to repeat the same thing over and over again until I got used to it.


    It was a great help to have Cristal around even if she didn''t mince her words every time I gotzy or unmotivated.


    This was the basics of the basics so there was no way around it and no shortcut. Even if I got omnipotent power, if I couldn''t use it efficiently, then it would be like giving a baby a sub-machine gun. Like the baby, I could die while using my power.


    This was reality, and I couldn''t run away from it.


    Still, I was quite motivated again when I realized that this was just temporary and that in the future I would be able to use this power at its full potential. I was thinking about the things I would be able to do when that timees, and I was a little bit excited.


    Fortunately, after all of that struggle, I could finally use my power while swinging my sword. It was not that hard when I got hang of it.


    I just imagined that my power was an invisible air current surrounding me, and I needed to control the flow as I moved so that it won''t hinder my attack.


    I used my brain a lot these days trying to understand how my power worked,e up with trump cards if things took a bad turn, and investigated the people who were watching me.


    Unfortunately, these dark forces who moved in the shadow were no amateur, and even Cristal didn''t find anything else apart from that transmission.


    I was up against very dangerous people but I still needed to keep a low profile, because I didn''t have yet the power to fight them alone. And I couldn''t expose my family to unnecessary danger due to my carelessness, since these people were just suspicious of me for the time being and didn''t make any move yet. That was why I needed to be extremely careful about how I acted in public.


    I hoped that they would lose interest in me sooner orter.


    Even if Cristal didn''t find anything about that matter, she picked up something rather interesting from the hunters.


    "This could be used as one of my trump cards if things take a bad turn," I muttered, looking at the purple stone inside of my bag.


    I was wondering where Cristal went during that time when I talked to my mother, but I didn''t expect her to pick this stone. These hunters wouldn''t even notice that the stone tightly sealed somewhere inside their ship was gone. It was a piece of cake ording to her, but I was wondering how did she manage to do it.


    After thinking about what happened during this week, I packed my stuff and exited my room.


    It was time to go on an adventure.


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    The Royal castle of Kepalta had a private airfield where spaceships couldnd.


    This area was not essible to the public and was only reserved for guests and officials. Furthermore, only a few high-ced nobles and important people from Kepalta possessed a spaceship that was stationed there.


    A particr spaceshipnded in this area and the Empire''s crest was engraved on the ship''s body. However, there was also another crest, and it was no other than the Fenrirus''s n crest.


    Inside one of the ship''spartments, someoneined in a loud voice. "Why did she give us that kind of instructions?!"


    The person in question was a tall man in his mid-thirties, with smooth blond hair, crystal blue eyes, handsome facial features, and wore full body armor.


    "That''s so stupid!" The man added.


    "Timothy, you know her, she is stubborn and a bit na?ve at times. She must have her reason."<sub> </sub>


    The one who answered was a woman with crimson red hair, golden eyes, plump lips, and wore a tank top attached with other sets of armor which emphasized her apparent body curves. She gave a fierce and serious impression.


    These two people were having a discussion rted to a certain task that Liu asked them to do.


    After listening to the woman''s words, Timothy grabbed his head in a panicked manner and his face turned pale. "But, Yelena, we are talking about this guy here. The guy doesn''t even look that special. What if he used some kind of method to hypnotize Miss Liu and forced her to marry him?"


    Yelena looked at him with disbelief. "How can you evene up with that kind of idea. I tell you, if you do something weird to Miss Liu, I will burn that blond hair that you are so proud of, along with your head."


    "Nooo! Spare my hair."


    Elena ignored Timothy and looked at Adam''s face, as his picture was projected by a high-tech 3D project installed inside of the ship. "Just do what you were told to do, for now. After all, there is also the possibility that Miss Liu found out something that we aren''t aware of."


    "I know, but why me? Wouldn''t someone like Brandon be more intimidating?" Timothy asked, still not convinced about the next task that he was assigned to do.


    "That''s not the point you fool." Yelena rebuked. "Still, I am surprised that Miss Liu would allow someone to get this close to her apart from us. What is she thinking?" Yelena added, almost as if she was talking to herself.


    Liu''s spaceship was big and more than fifty people were needed to make it fly.


    Of course, these were trustworthy crew members from the Fenrirus n, but Liu never interacted with them and never let anyone else take a step inside of this ship, which was almost like her private space since she traveled a lot due to the tasks that her father charged her to aplish as the next head of the Fenrirus n.


    However, Liu told them that Adam would travel with them and that they needed to create a situation where one of them would challenge Adam in a duel before they arrive at their destination.


    "Even so, I don''t think I can do this. She did say precisely that it should be a serious fight, but what if I kill the kid identally?" Timothyined. He didn''t want to do this task, but he lost during a bet so he needed to do it.


    "Well, good luck with that. Miss Liu might thank you personally depending on your performance. Who knows, she might even reward you." Yelena said. She was certainly trying to boost Timothy''s motivation.


    "I-I see. Hahaha¡­ I see, so Miss Liu will kiss me." Timothy was lost in his fantasy.


    "No, I didn''t say that."


    Liu''s order was a little bit weird, but Timothy had no choice but to do it anyway.


    These people admired Liu and would give their life for her. Liu met them when she traveled from to, and they offered toe with her of their own volition.


    As they traveled with her, they came to know about what Liu went through, and what she still needed to endure in the future.


    In a way, these people were her most trustworthypanions, even if most of them had unusual personalities and backgrounds.


    *****


    In a ce devoid of serenity, where chaos and horror reign, a person wearing a ragged ck armor topped with a dark coat, and a helmet covering his face, looked down at the hordes of brainless monsters below him, as he stood at the top of a hill.


    "Commender, the beast has moved." A low-ranked minion reported.


    "Finally. It''s time to move to our next destination. We must find that fragment at any cost! Pass my order: Everyone get ready for battle!"


    "Yes, sir."


    This was a race against time; before that ominous entity decided to reveal his existence to the world, before he execute his ultimate n, and before the whole universe was engulfed in a sea of mes, the fragments of the tree of life must be retrieved. Otherwise, everything that they sacrificed until now would be lost in vain.


    Themander looked at the scenery as far his eyes could see through the holes on his mask, but all he could see was a destednd, a nest of monsters and despair.


    This individual knew more than anyone else that his Lord sacrificed many things just to stay alive, and even after that, he fell into the dark side, consumed by the ''Corruption''.


    There was no turning back, and they could only move forward, bearing all of the sins that would never be bleached.

 Chapter 41 A Step Forward (Part 2)

    The day of my departure finally arrived, and I was a little bit excited.


    Still¡­


    "Adam, don''t forget this, and this and this¡­ Also, be careful of scammers, big mosquitoes, and¡­"


    "I got it, Mom, I will be careful, so don''t worry too much."


    ¡­My mother prepared a lot of things for me, things that she said would be necessary, but I didn''t even know where  I would put all of them.


    As for my father¡­


    "I will look forward to the results of your training, son."


    ¡­He was more interested in the fact that I was going with Liu. He didn''t say it out loud, but the side nces at Liu who was standing next to me, as he said these words, betrayed his poker face.


    "Yeah, I won''t disappoint you, father¡­"


    I didn''t want toment about it though. I knew what he was thinking, and I knew that he was wrong, but I left him to his fantasy.


    It was not my problem if he got disappointedter. ''You will not get a grandchild so soon, father. Keep dreaming.''


    After we finished our goodbyes, a vehicle was waiting for us at the main gate.


    No matter how many times I saw these floating vehicles, I was always amazed.


    They used a different type of mana stone called Gravitrum as a source of power for these vehicles,  which also gave them the ability to float. This kind of mana stone was also used for spaceships.


    ''If mana some existed on Earth, then I guess flying cars like those wouldn''t only exist in movies¡­ Well, these remind me of S*ar w*rs, so I guess the imagination was always there.''


    After that, I boarded the vehicle along with Liu, Cristal, and Verte.


    These two were still expressionless as ever, and there was this weird atmosphere between them.


    To be honest, I knew that Liu was wary of Cristal, and Cristal too was on her guard around Liu.


    Mostly because, It was a hassle toe up with a background story for Cristal, and we could only manage toe up with something half-convincing.


    No one knew Cristal, and this fact was very suspicious, so I said that I recruited her myself.


    Things settled down a bit after that, and Cristal was given a room inside the castle, but my parents were still curious about her, so I avoided the topic most of the time.


    Regardless, Cristal didn''t attract unnecessary attention when she was in her humanoid form, so I believed that it was for the better to introduce her in this form.


    After all, I still didn''t know how exactly the Empire viewed highly advanced AI.


    *****


    Before long, we finally arrived at the airfield.


    I had been to this ce a couple of times, but it was extremely different from a normal airport, so I was always excited to see all of the spaceships lined up in this vast area.


    ''Cool! I want one.''


    I was always thinking about owning one of these since the first time I saw one, and I would use it as a kind of personal base.


    After all, what was the point of reincarnating in a world where spaceships existed if I didn''t possess one?


    Going from that principle, I set my eyes on a particr spaceship.


    It was more like a luxurious cruiser that could fly, rather than a spaceship. Well, I could see that it was equipped with more than fifty or so canons, so I deduced that it was probably a more battle-oriented spaceship.


    ''The design is cool...''


    However, as soon as I saw the Empire''s crest, and an unfamiliar crest next to it, I immediately realized that this was Liu''s ship.


    As soon as we came in front of this ship, someone came out, a red-haired woman, and a blond-haired man.


    They approached us, so I understood that they were acquainted with Liu.


    "Wee back, Miss Liu." The red-haired woman said.


    "Mm." Liu nodded briefly. She was quieter than usual on that day.


    Then, the red-haired woman looked at me and Cristal.


    "You are Adam, I presume."


    Her tone waspletely different from the one she adopted while greeting Liu.


    I felt like they didn''t take me seriously.


    "Yep."


    I didn''t intend to get along with them too, so I guess the feeling was mutual. As long as I suspected them, I would never let my guard or get friendly.


    This was a test, so I tried to provoke them as much as possible and gauge their reactions. If they got provoked by this much, then they were never that much of a threat in the first ce, or so I thought. From the moment I saw these two people, I always put on a poker face.


    The woman frowned when she heard my answer.


    I didn''t say anything and just ignored her.


    Liu walked inside the ship and I followed her, without paying attention to the two new characters.<sub> </sub>


    However, when I was about to take a step inside the spaceship, a voice interrupted me.


    "Hey kid, you look full of yourself, but do you have the qualifications to board this ship?"


    The blond-haired man, who was quiet until then, talked in a very theatrical manner. It was clear that he was acting, and he was very bad at it.


    After hearing him, I nced at Liu, but she looked away, avoiding my eyes.


    ''Liu¡­ I never expected that you are so bad at lying.'' I was a little bit suspicious when she asked me toe with her out of nowhere, but at that moment, I understood that she was just bad at lying.


    "What do you mean?" I asked, out of curiosity.


    After hearing my question, the blond-haired man puffed his chest and continued his cheap act. "I challenge you in a very serious duel. If I approve you, then you can travel with us."


    Okay, I was just guessing, but maybe that was not an act, and this guy was just stupid.


    ''Does he takes me for a fifteen years old kid or what?''


    I ignored the guy and continue to walk forward.


    "Hey, didn''t you hear what I said?!"


    I only turned my head slightly and looked back at the noisy guy. "Don''t get me wrong, I am not here to y with you."


    I saw that he wanted to approach me, but I activated my power and neutralized his movement.


    ''So he is a gift holder,'' I deduced.


    This time, no one else was affected, since I could now control my power, and I only targeted this blonde man.


    It consumed fewer primordial particles, but the result was the same.


    My power was invisible, so no one could see what happened, and even the target themselves would be confused.


    It felt like I was manipting an invisible glue at will. The blond-haired just looked like he was frozen in ce.


    As for me, I walked toward Liu.


    From the blond-haired man''s actions, I was ny percent sure about what Liu wanted from me.


    It was weird that she woulde to this and get interested in me by pure coincidence.


    So there must have been something that attracted her attention here, and when she came to this, I became her first suspect for a reason that I didn''t know.


    In that case, I could assume that she wanted to test me, or more exactly to see my power at its full potential.


    And if that was the case, then I needed to know¡­


    "Miss Liu, are you my enemy?"


    I looked at Liu straight in the eyes, without a hint of doubt in mind.


    I was ready to immediately activate my power, pick up Verte, take down as many people as I could, and then use one of my trump cards to get out there.


    There was a long pause before Liu answered. I could hear my heartbeats and I could feel my muscles tensing up.


    No one else moved but I knew that they were waiting for Liu''s reaction.


    Verte looked at me with her big eyes, and I wanted to protect her at any cost. I didn''t want her to witness something like this, but if she were to grow up in the Empire, and if Liu was not a good person, then she wouldn''t have much choice but to be a bad person too.


    I couldn''t let that happen, not when I knew that Verte was a sweet child and was particrly fond of me.


    ? Liu faced me with an unchanging expression and finally answered. "I am not."


    For some reason, I was a little bit relieved after hearing Liu''s reply.  There was no way for me to confirm that she wasn''t lying but if she was lying then I would probably notice something odd about the atmosphere surrounding her.


    "I see. But I know that there''s something that you want to know. So, I challenge you in a duel, a serious one."


    Liu''s eyes widened when she heard my words.


    "However, one month, no, two weeks¡­ Give me two weeks and you can test me yourself. But if I win, I want you to be my friend."


    There was no need to avoid this because my rtionship with Liu would never progress unless we somehow resolved this issue.


    However, this was also a trap to find out if there was someone else involved with these dark forces among her crewmembers.


    As long as Liu epted, there should be no one who would bother me during these two weeks, and if someone did, then it must be because Liu lied or someone else was acting without her knowing.


    In case she refused, then I would never ept to show power to her anymore. And If she couldn''t stand that, and used other methods to force me, then I would also know her true motives.


    And If nothing happened,  then no one would know about my power and I would be able to train in peace for two weeks.


    "I ept," Liu replied.


    I smiled a little bit after hearing her reply.


    "But Miss Liu, we can''t stay here that long!" The red-haired woman rebuked.


    "It''s fine. It''s part of the mission."


    After that, Liu walked without turning back and went deeper inside the spaceship, and I followed her.

 Chapter 42 Liu’s Companions

    ''This is a little bit annoying¡­''


    I couldn''t help bute to this conclusion, considering the situation that I was in.


    It had been a while since we departed and Yelena, the red-haired woman, had more or less introduced me to the others.


    I expected that there would be some kind of tension between me and Liu''spanions but I didn''t think that they would treat me like a bother.


    An ufortable atmosphere enveloped the room and I became the center of unwanted attention.


    "Bababa!"


    Only Verte''s voice could be heard apart from the sound produced by Zax who was focused on fixing up some kind of drone, and Bradon who was cooking for the rest of the group.


    Zax was a rather petite woman, and her pink hair and unusual pupils were very eye-catching. She wore two metal gloves, and a huge goggle that looked like they were invented by her, and her clothes were rather shabby, but she was the specialist in robotics in Liu''s crew.


    I didn''t understand why she had to do that inside of this room, because this was supposed to be a dining room, and I was alone with Verte until these people showed up one by one and stayed inside the room.


    As for Bradon, he was very muscr and his pointy ears and silver hair suggested that he was from the same race as Gordon.


    ''Are they cousins or rtives?''


    Brondon''s face and arms were full of scars, and I deduced that he went through many painful experiences. I had a rather positive opinion of him.


    Talking about different races, there was a very particr individual among this group of people. His name was Feldenis and his race was called Zelphyre. He had long golden hair, and pointy ears and wore a pair of sses. He was also wearing a white coat, almost simr to what Caroline was wearing.


    Yelena introduced Feldenis as a specialist in Biology and Geology.


    As for me, I just thought of him as an elf and Brondon as a dark elf.


    Apart from these three, there was the blond-haired guy who was called Timothy and was ring at me as if he wanted to eat me alive.


    There was also Yelena, who exhibited a fierce aura as she crossed her arms and closed her eyes as if she was thinking about something extremely important.


    Nevertheless, I must say that Liu''spanions were interesting individuals despite their unfriendly attitude.


    Well, I was quite unfriendly myself, so I didn''t mind. And if there were opportunities to get along with them in the future, then I was not against trying to talk with them.


    "Gugugu!"


    Verte was very cheerful as usual while drinking the milk that I prepared for her. She sat on myp and I stroked her hair gently.


    Every time Verte let out happy noises, all of the other people inside the room looked at me with funny eyes.


    They were probably asking themselves why Verte liked me, but I didn''t know about it myself.


    Liu said that she was going to her room so I asked her if I could take care of Verte for a while, and she epted, and Verte was happy, so I didn''t give much thought to it, but it seemed like Verte never stayed with anyone else apart from her before, so herpanions were surprised to see Verte on myp.


    With that said, I wanted to look around the ship, so I stood up and exited the room.


    I didn''t care about Liu''spanions'' reactions. If they had something to say, then they could just talk to me.


    I was always trying to be polite to them but I didn''t intend to be treated like a kid by them. Well, it might look like I was a fifteen years old kid who tried to look like an adult, but that was fine with me.


    As I walked around, I was seriously impressed by Liu''s ship. It was very modern when it came to internal design, the functionalities, and many things¡­ It was as if I stepped straight inside of a Sci-fi movie.


    Along the hallway connecting thepartments of the ship, the was a huge window where I could see what happened outside and¡­


    "Wow! What can I say? This is something that normal people would never see¡­"


    Yeah, it was not every day that people saw what a looked like from space. I was referring to the people on Earth, but even in this world, many people would never experience seeing this kind of scenery during their lifetime.


    By traveling in outer space, it wouldn''t even take half a day to arrive at our destination: The continent called Nakahafa.


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    Puff!


    Liu dived down on top of her bed, and thefy bed made a puffing sound.


    This was an action that Liu would never let other people see, but like any human being, she also needed to relieve her stress from time to time.


    "Mmmmmmm¡­."


    She pped her legs as shey down on her stomach, burying her face inside one of her pillows.<sub> </sub>


    After a while, she rxed and began to think about various topics.


    ''What should I do now¡­''


    She epted Adam''s challenge on the spot, but when she thought about it again, it was rather a weird deration.


    ''What is he thinking? Does he want to be my friend? Does that even count as a request? After all, we probably won''t meet again after this¡­''


    Liu was never good when it came to human rtions.


    However, Adam intrigued her more and more. At first, she was just there to investigate him, but it turned out that Adam himself was different from Liu''s expectations.


    "Well, when I return home, all of that won''t matter anymore¡­"


    Liu whispered, and there was a hint of unwillingness in her voice.


    *****


    :::[ Adam''s POV]:::


    We finally arrived at our destination, a country situated within the continent of Nakahafa, and so we disembarked from the ship.


    At first, I thought that only, Liu, Cristal, Verte, and I would search for this master, but for some reason, five extra people came with us.


    "Hahaha¡­ This will be a sort of vacation for us!" Timothy said, in an extremely loud and excited voice.


    Seriously, this guy would match the description of a prince riding a white horse if he didn''t act like that. ''Such as shame¡­''


    Yelena smacked Timothy''s head. "We are not here to y, but to help Miss Liu and¡­ the kid to look for this so-called master."


    Zax analyzed the surrounding with her strange-looking goggle. It was like some sort of high-tech gadget. I was extremely interested in asking her about its functionality, but this was not the right time and the right ce for that.


    Brodon and Feldenis stayed quiet and looked at the others as if they were looking at some excited kids. Brandon had a faint smile on his face but Feldenis looked at the city with interest.


    ''The two of them must be older than us, and not by a few decades¡­''


    Cristal stayed quiet for a while now, but I was not against it, I didn''t want her to talk with me the way she always did after all. It would be very suspicious.


    As for Liu, she talked to Yelena, or more like she listened to Yelena talking and nodded slightly from time to time.


    I also analyzed the surrounding area and I was left speechless.


    ''Is this feudal Japan? But why does it looks like it is more advanced than current Japan on earth?''


    The buildings'' design looked like a minimized version of the Emperor''s castle, but some of them were still very tall. However, there was this touch of modernity in the design and the material used for construction.


    Still, it was not that advanced when it came to this Empire''s standards.


    The atmosphere around the city indicated that it was a very active city.


    Different people from different races flooded the streets, and different kinds of vehicles traveled back and forth from one ce to another.


    There were also different kinds of stores in every corner of the city, selling various things that I had never seen before. There were weird gadgets, foods, essories, etc...


    And...


    ''There are lights? I guess they use some kind of power source to generate electricity¡­ Come to think of it, there was something like that inside the castle.''


    I felt a bit nostalgic.


    The city itself was very interesting, and I wanted to look around more, but it was not our final destination.


    We were here tond the ship and then continue our trip aboard a vehicle that could carry us deep inside of the dense forest right next to this city.


    ording to Cristal, this forest was very dense and the trees were almost hundreds of meters tall, so the spaceship couldn''t travel through it, or evennd there.


    This was why we needed tond the spaceship here.


    Everything went smoothly because my father gave me and Liu a Royal Pass that let us go wherever we wanted on this. It also gave me many extremely advantageous privileges. ''What can I say? It''s nice to be the son of the Lord.''


    After that, Zax brought a vehicle out of the ship and asked us to board it, and so we finally sent out to find this legendary master.


    ''I wonder what kind of person is he¡­ I hope I won''t have to go through another duel again¡­''

 Chapter 43 The Forest

    It took a certain amount of time to travel through the huge city, even with the floating vehicle.


    This was because as we went deeper to the heart of the city, there were too many vehicles causing traffic jams. The number of people increased too and it almost reminded me of these big cities on Earth. Still, the flying cars roaming around were not something that I was used to seeing.


    I lived inside a castle after all, and the capital of Kepalta was rather peaceful most of the time.


    There was the option of following a way around the city, but it will waste too much time ording to Cristal who became our guide. She gave the coordinate of our destination to Zax and the two of them discussed the best route to follow. The two of them sat in a separatepartment of the vehicle; Zax drove and Cristal navigated.


    It helped that we had the Royal Pass so we could take routes that ordinary citizens weren''t allowed to pass through.


    Maybe it was because of the atmosphere around the city or the color buildings that had interesting designs, or the various models of vehicles that we saw passing by, but the atmosphere inside our vehicles turned quite lively.


    Feldenis who was rather quiet before began to showcase his knowledge. From the discussion between Feldenis and the others, I learned that this city was called Mahanoro. He was more familiar with this city, with this, more than I expected. Well, we headed to a Zelphyre''s vige, so I guess he was excited to meet his peers.


    "Do you see that particr building? That is the building where the noble of this province reside." Feldenis exined, pointing at a certain building that was very eye-catching. Even among the tall skyscrapers inside this huge city, which was as big as two Tokyo, this building managed to stand out.


    The building was something like a traditional Japanese house but built with shiny metals and adorned with some kind of red materials.


    But in my opinion¡­


    ''What''s up with this, it''s so ugly¡­ And it''s too big, and has almost hundreds of floors? What the heck is that¡­ I feel bad for the Japanese who designed these beautiful houses.''


    But unlike me, Timothy, Yelena, and Brodon looked at the building with interest.


    "How about visiting that ce? We are not in a hurry right?" Timothymented. "I mean, that so-called master can wait another day, right?"


    After Timothy ruined the mood by saying said that, everyone else looked at me.


    Facing me was Liu, and next to her was Yelena, and then a noisy guy, Timothy.


    Feldenenis who sat opposite Timothymented. "It''s not open to the public, so unless Adam or Miss Liu go with you there, then you won''t be able to take a step inside. And I believe that none of them want toe with you."


    Feldenis had an unwavering mature smile on his face as he put Timothy in his ce.


    ''Nice, Feldenis!''


    Timothy wanted to add something, but Yelena elbowed him on the side.


    "Just shut up!"


    Liu was looking outside the window during all of that, and Verte was sitting on herp.


    She took a nce at me, and I smiled at her, and then she averted her eyes.


    ''I wonder what she might be thinking...''


    Liu changed her clothes into two pieces of outfits: A sleeveless garment and pants. I was no specialist in Chinese outfits so I didn''t know what these clothes were called, but the azure color looked good on her.


    I didn''t want people to see that I stared at her too much so I turned my head and looked outside.


    ******


    After we managed to travel through the city of Mahanoro, we could finally see huge trees on the horizon. These trees looked like they were about to graze the sky, and we were all stunned by this amazing sight.


    "This is it," Feldenis announced. "This is the divine forest."


    Everyone was excited to see these unusual trees, and even Liu looked like she was curious about how tall these trees were.


    We took a little break, admiring the majestic trees, and ate something prepared by Brondon, then continued our journey.


    As we moved forward, Feldenis began to tell stories rted to this forest, about how it was protected by the gods, and about the mystical beasts that lived there. He also said that it was hard to navigate through this forest as the huge trees masked the sunlight.


    ording to him, the fauna and flora of this forest, which covered a rtively vast area, were very different from everything we saw before and it was very dangerous to travel there without any preparation.


    Fortunately, we had Cristal and the vehicle was also customized by Zax to be able to go through a lot of harsh conditions.


    With all of that in mind, we continued our journey and entered the forest.


    As soon as we advanced for more than two hundred meters, the atmosphere changed dramatically.


    First of all, it was extremely hot, and the surrounding was dark, almost as if waste in the evening.


    ''This will be tougher than I expected¡­''


    Zax slowed down and turned on the lights inside the vehicle and outside.


    The trees vines and roots which were bigger than a whole house stood in our way, and so Zax needed to drive carefully and skillfully.


    I was very impressed with her skill, it was as if the vehicle was a part of her body.


    "It''s so hot!" Timothyined. He was wearing his usual full-body armor.


    Feldenis took off his coat and I also took off my jacket. It was particrly bad for me because I went full ck for this trip. The vehicle had an air conditioner built-in, but it was not enough, because it was a rather small and confined space.<sub> </sub>


    Seeing this, Liu activated her power to cool down the heat inside this confined space.


    She was very considerate despite her expressionless face.


    "Thank you," I said.


    Liu looked at me and nodded a little bit. They checked on Verte and used a handkerchief to wipe her sweat.


    I didn''t know why, but I found this scene a bit heartwarming.


    As we advanced, I wondered why we just traveled above the trees, but when I thought about it, I understood that it will be hard to find the vige that way. After all, who knows if this vige was hidden underground.


    Cristal found the coordinates to this ce after studying the story of this legendary swordsman, and there was also Feldenis who was rather familiar with the tales rted to this ce, but it was hard to find the ce.


    As I was thinking about these things, the vehicle stopped suddenly¡­


    "There are two many vines in the way and it''s dangerous to take make a detour," Zax said through a window that connected the twopartments of the vehicle.


    "It seems like we don''t have a choice but to cut them down," Feldenis said. "Still, it is dangerous to stay here for too long¡­ The beasts living in the forest must have already followed us."


    "Beasts?" Timothy snorted, and then he made a very cringeworthy deration. "There''s no need to be scared as long as I am here."


    Yelena shook her head after hearing Timothy''s words.


    "Ah!" Yelena looked like an idea popped inside of her mind. "Timothy, you are strong, right?"


    "What? Are you doubting me?"


    "It''s not that, it''s just that I haven''t seen you use your full powertely¡­"


    "Humph! We only met with small fries these days."


    "I see, you are right! But wait, isn''t this an opportunity for you to break some leg? You can use your incredible power to destroy these vines and fight the beasts at the same time. You don''t want Miss Liu to take care of such a thing right?"


    "Hahaha! Of course, I can take care of this alone. Zax, open the door."


    He was an easy guy.


    After that Timothy hopped on top of the vehicle outside and began to take care of the vines, but the vines were not the only problem.


    Numerous dots of light appeared around us, and they moved around followed by intimidating shadows.


    Timothy activated his power which was an elemental lightning gift. I didn''t know what he was doing outside, but I could hear thunderous noises every time he struck the vines.


    The sound of the impact caused by the huge vines that fell to the ground echoed throughout the quiet forest.


    Because of that, there were rming movements among the beasts who lived inside this forest.


    "We need to move," Feldenis said.


    After hearing Feldenis''sment, Yelena asked Timothy. "Timothy, are you done?!"


    "Just a little bit, these vines are harder than they look."


    It looked like Timothy had a hard time with the vines, and I wasn''t surprised, because I wouldn''t be able to do anything much about it myself.


    However, the shadows that loomed around began to move toward us.


    "Zax, open the door," Liu said.


    Then she asked me to hold Verte.


    After that Liu hopped on top of the car.


    "Miss Liu? W-what are you doing here?" Timothy asked.


    I couldn''t see what happened but a few minutes after that Liu and Timothy came back, and we began to advance again.


    The presence of the beats that loomed in the shadow also disappeared and Liu was still expressionless.


    Only the sound of crackling and falling vines could be heard.


    I looked outside and even though it was a bit dark, I could see that most of the trees'' roots that we passed by had a glimmer of white shade as the vehicle''s light illuminated them.


    ''What did she do?'' I thought. ''How strong is she? Can I win against her?''


    Even Timothy didn''t say anything and looked like he was a little bit frustrated.


    "As expected of Miss Liu," Yelenamented.

 Chapter 44 The Marvelous City

    It felt like we traveled for five hours or so through this gloomy environment.


    There were issues with vines now and then, but Timothy jumped out and took care of them quickly. I wasn''t sure what happened to him, but at least he was motivated.


    Not too long after that, Zax caught a glimpse of something different.


    "I can see some lights ahead!"


    "Lights? Inside of this dark forest?" Timothy asked, and he was not the only one who was surprised by Zax''s words.


    "We have arrived." Feledenis, as if he was waiting for this moment for a long time, whispered. It looked like he was trying to hide his excitement, but his face betrayed him.


    Liu didn''t say anything, but she squinted her eyes when she heard Zax.


    Even Brodon, who stayed quiet during the whole trip smiled more than he usually did. Honestly, I couldn''t read Brodon''s face at all. He was a master at concealing his presence, even though he was next to me all of this time.


    ''Does he have some kind of concealment power?''


    When Timothy realized that no one paid attention to his question, he asked another one. "So people are living here? In this forest? How is that possible?"


    "Have you not paid attention to Feldenis''s exnation? They use a kind of mana stone called ''Sunstone'' to generate lights, now shut up!"


    Even though Yelena looked like she disliked Timothy, she was always the one who talked to him the most.


    ''Such a weird rtionship.''


    To be honest, I was a little bit d that these guys came with us. I didn''t trust them yet, but when I thought about what would have happened if only Liu and I stayed inside thispartment, I couldn''t even imagine the awkwardness.


    ''Well, it might have been an interesting experience too¡­''


    After that, Zax hit the brake and we descended from the car.


    "Wooooow! Is this for real? Yelena, do you see that?"


    "We are looking at the same thing, don''t ask stupid questions." Bonk!


    "Such a marvelous sight!" Even Feldenis spoke in amazement. "I never dreamed of seeing this ce in my lifetime. I wish mother could have seen this¡­"


    I nced at Feldenis, and I saw him in a different light. ''This guy¡­ He looked forward to this trip more than I thought.''


    At that moment, I realized that maybe Liu''spanions were not bad people at all.


    "Gugugugu!" Verse who was still in my arms also let out happy noises.


    As for me, I almost thought that I was dreaming.


    This ce gave at the same time a mystical, a serene, and a peaceful vibe. I felt like I was in the heart of mother nature.


    There were houses suspended between the trees using some kind of robust yet flexible-looking vines. The designs of these houses were like some kind of cocoons made of golden vines.


    And in the middle of this city, there was an almost divine-looking tree. It stood out from all of the others because of its golden leaves.


    Moreover, the whole city was illuminated by sunstones, which absorbed a bit of sunlight and turned it into a more dazzling radiance ording to Feldenis, so all of the gloominess that was present in the different parts of the forest disappeared altogether.


    Furthermore, this city overflowed with life, unlike what I expected. It was a little bit different from Mahanoro''s atmosphere, and I felt like I stepped into a real fantasy world for the first time.


    "Master, shall we go?"


    I turned around and saw Cristal and everyone else looking at me. It seemed like I was the one who was enthralled by this sight and was lost in my imagination.


    "Sorry, I was a bit surprised. Let''s go."


    Feldenis suggested that it might be better to walk on foot and not attract unwanted attention.


    After that, Zax concealed the vehicle, using a kind of concealment technology.


    ''Seriously, is she a genius or what? This vehicle is a monster!''


    *****


    "Kid, what are we going to do from here?" Yelena asked.


    "We need to gather information first. Let''s find a ce where that we can use as a rendezvous point first, and then we will split up and search for a swordsman. He should be famous around here so there should be someone who knows him around." I exined.


    "Humph! Don''t give me orders kid." Timothy rebuked.


    "Are you okay with that, Miss Liu?" I ignored Timothy and asked Liu''s opinion instead.


    "Yes, let''s do that."


    I looked at Timothy and smirked. I knew that he wanted to look good in front of Liu.


    ''Too bad for you, hahaha...''


    Timothy wanted to say something but Yelena red at him and then followed me who had already walked ahead with Liu and everyone else.


    We continued to walk through the city and looked for a suitable ce where we could stay in.


    We attracted more than just a few stares, but it was to be expected, because unlike I expected, there weren''t many humans here.


    *****<sub> </sub>


    "We don''t receive human visitors often, what can I do for you?"


    A woman who had golden hair, pointy ears, and apparent body curves greeted us when we entered the most crowded ce that we could find.


    She wore a very unique looking dress and her hair was adorned with golden vines.


    ''Every woman here looks like this? After all, this is supposed to be a pub, right? So why does she look like the Queen of the elves?''


    I looked at Feledenis and he was certainly handsome, but it looked like his clothes masked his aura.


    "Do you loan rooms?" I asked.


    "Let me see¡­ Mmmm, we have two VIP rooms left."


    "Do they include separate beds?"


    "Yes, two small beds and onerge bed. You need to pay in advance though, and meals are not included. You will have to pay for every meal."


    "That''s fine."


    I didn''t expect to see a kind of pub in this city, but when I looked around, I understood that the main customers here were not humans.


    The interior was not different from one of those pubs illustrated in those fantasy mangas, but if I had to say what looked different, then it was the presence of obvious modern devices. For example, liquor distributors, robots cleaners, etc¡­


    When I thought about it, it will be difficult for humans to travel through that forest ande here often, so these things must have been brought here by the different races who lived on this but I was not aware.


    I booked the room, for the time being, then we went to sit around a table on the upper floor of the pub. The atmosphere on this floor was more rxed, and we could see that this was more or less reserved for VIPs.


    "We will stay in this ce, for now, or at least until we find a better ce."


    I didn''t hesitate to start the conversation.


    Some of Liu''spanions looked at me with weird eyes, but when they saw that Liu listen to me, they kept their disapproval to themselves.


    "You can rest for today and start to help me look for this swordsman if you want. Or you can just explore the area¡­ Here are the keys of the rooms, and the women will stay in this one, and men in this one."


    I handed the key to Yelena and Brodon.


    "As for me, I will immediately start to gather information with Cristal."


    "Humph, it''s your business and not ours after all," Timothy said.


    "Cut it out, Timothy. This is not the time for such petty talk."


    "Petty? I-" Bonk!


    I ignored these two and looked at the others. Feldenis was a little restless, it was obvious that he was itching to go look around.


    Brondon showed interest in the food and Zax was looking at the robot cleaners.


    Verte was eating something and Liu took care of her as her face was covered with bits. Liu didn''t look like she wanted to look around for today.


    After that, I ate something and then left with Cristal.


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    "Miss Liu, are we going to follow that kid''s order?"


    "Timothy, do you take miss Liu as a fool? She understands that Adam takes this whole thing seriously and so she let him take care of it by himself to test him."


    "Even so¡­"


    After Adam left, Timothy voiced his doubt concerning the fact that everyone more or less listened to Adam''s instructions. It was as if he was their leader.


    Timothy nced at Liu and felt a bit frustrated.


    "Adam doesn''t hide his intention at all. At least he is honest and has guts¡­ I like that kid." Brandon who was quiet the whole time spoke for the first time, and his words surprised everyone, even Liu.


    "I agree with you, Brodon. For him to know about this ce and wanted to go here alone, he must be confident in his skills and knowledge." Feldenenis added.


    Feldenis didn''t say it out loud, but he was a bit grateful to Adam. He traveled with Liu around the universe for a while, but he couldn''t ask her toe here for his sake. He knew that Liu was already going through a lot of adversity.


    "What do you think, Zax?"


    After realizing that two members of the group were on Adam''s side, Timothy wanted the others on his side.


    "He is interested in my gadgets."


    "What? What kind of answer is that?"


    It seemed like Zax knew that Adam was looking at her gadgets and showed interest in them.


    When he saw that Zax wasn''t interested in talking to him any longer, Timothy finally looked at Liu, but she looked like she wasn''t paying attention to their conversation.


    Timothy felt frustration welling up inside of him. ''I thought that this Adam brat was just a kid but it seems like I misjudged him¡­''

 Chapter 45 Does The Legendary Master Exist?

    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    After separating from Liu and the others, I talked with Cristal privately.


    "How was it?"


    "As you instructed, I investigated the whole ship during the travel but there was nothing suspicious, at least for now. But if there was something I found odd, then it was the fact that three individuals that looked extremely overqualified for their current positions as crew members are traveling with Liu and the others. I believe that they are there to keep an eye on Liu and don''t have anything to do with the people watching us."


    "I see, Liu must have it rough too¡­ I bet she already noticed them too, but she can''t do anything about it."


    "Yes, master, I believe so too. Still, I tampered with the system a little bit as you said, just in case."


    This was something that I needed to do. Apart from putting a tracker on Verte (a light bracelet on her hand) in order to keep an eye on Liu''s movement, I had also instructed Cristal to find out more about what was happening inside Liu''s spaceship.


    "Yeah, that should be enough for now¡­" I didn''t think that I was too pessimistic, I was just being careful, considering everything that happened. "And after spending time with them, I have the feeling that they are not bad people. I hope I am right."


    To be honest, I wanted to avoid fighting Liu at all costs.


    "Master, you''ve worked hard these past few days. You have to take a little break after your duel with Liu, because, when you go to the empire you won''t be able to take it easy anymore. If you have a mental breakdown now, then all of this would be for naught."


    I know that I worked hard these past few days, because I had also increased the security around my parents without them noticing. I even prepared armors for them made with nanotechnology, a field that I more or less managed to master with Cristal''s help. ''Well, I was just looking at her most of the time, so I still have a long way to go¡­''


    Still, these were not worth mentioning. Because I thought that I should have done that since the beginning.


    "Yeah, I feel like I am changing into a different person¡­ Well, too much is never good. I will ept your advice, but for now, let''s find this legendary master before the others understand what we are looking for."


    *****


    "Excuse me, I have a question."


    "What can I do for you?"


    "Do you know where I can find a cksmith here? Or do you know an outstanding swordsman that I can consult with?"


    I approached the female Zelphyre who worked inside the pub and asked her some questions.


    If there''s a famous swordsman here then he would be acquainted with a cksmith, and if he was famous enough, the people living in this city should have heard of him.


    ''If that''s not the case, then it will be hard to find a hermit in this huge city¡­ It will take too much time. I hope I won''t have to find someone who lives inside a cave or something¡­''


    "A cksmith? Hmmm¡­ I am not sure if he is a proper cksmith but there''s this old man who is obsessed with weapons."


    "That will do. Can you please tell me where I can find him?"


    After that, she gave me the location of the mysterious cksmith and I immediately went to search for the ce.


    Unfortunately, I was bad with directions and so Cristal was the one who lead the way.


    This city had underground areas and it was not easy to find someone with that little information, mostly a swordsman that was not very famous.


    ording to the innkeeper, there were few strong people here, but she never heard of a swordsman in particr.


    I started to get a bad feeling, considering that whether or not I found this master''s whereabouts, I still had to go take the Holy Academy''s entrance exam.


    There was also that duel with Liu too.


    ''Should I just look for someone else? Or maybe I can train by myself¡­''


    It took us more time than I thought to find the iconic buildings that the innkeeper indicated on a hand-drawn map. She was already a big help so I didn''tin, but we had to ask around as we progressed.


    After searching through the city, we finally found the atelier that the innkeeper described, but it was alreadyte in the afternoon.


    I entered the atelier, and it was a little bit shabby, even though it was not that small.


    It seemed like people living in this city relied on their gifts rather than on weapons, and so there were not many weapon shops or cksmiths. Everyone built their weapon when needed one.


    ''Well, considering the forest surrounding this city, I don''t think that there are many people who want to wage a war against this country¡­ Exining theck of people who needs weapons.''


    I looked around the atelier but I couldn''t see anyone.


    "Hello, is there anyone here?"


    No one answered all could see was a collection of swords and interesting-looking guns.


    I took a sword in my hand and swung a few times.


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    It was quite heavy, unlike the sma sword.


    "It looks cool when you see them in movies but these swords are a little bit impractical, aren''t they?"


    "It must be nice to have a sma sword, right master?"


    "What''s with that tone? I more or less build the sma sword myself, so there''s nothing wrong inparing it to the others."


    "If you say so."


    I put the sword back to where it was and asked again. "Hello! Is there anyone here?!"


    "Huh? Who is¡­Yik¡­there?"


    A creature that had the head of a frog and wore a leather jacket appeared from behind a door. He was drunk and it showed in the way he walked.


    ''How bad is the business here?''


    It seemed like no one even wanted to steal these weapons even though the shop was more or less left alone by this guy.<sub> </sub>


    "Hello there, I want to ask a few questions."


    "What? Yik.."


    "I said, I want to ask you a few questions!"


    "Croissant?"


    "Tch, this is a waste of time¡­"


    I became a little bit annoyed. As we searched for this atelier, we asked about a famous swordsman to the people we met, but no one knew this swordsman and it felt like he didn''t even exist.


    "Let''s stop here for today, it will be counterproductive to continue searching at night."


    "I agree. But I suggest that you don''t give up yet, master. This swordsman holds one the key to the sess of your ascension to your next level of existence."


    "I know that. Let''s head back for now."


    I already knew that I was still weak and I needed to get stronger as fast as possible.


    This feeling was a little bit frustrating. It was as if I was given a Lamborghini but before I could drive it, I needed to find the pieces of the key somewhere inside of ake, and in addition to that, I needed to learn to swim first.


    Still, this was not the time toin about such a thing.


    ''No matter what happens, I won''t die so easily¡­ At least until I am married to someone like Liu.''


    *****


    p :::[Third person POV]:::</anda>


    When Adam was still on his way back to the pub, there was a ruckus starting inside the ce.


    "Who is that woman? She wants to fight with these guys?"


    "But these guys are monsters. Look, they have four muscr arms!"


    People began to chatter as they looked at a drunk woman who was about to fight three of the most dangerous race that lived in this city: the ''Quardons''.


    This race distinguished themselves with their almost crimson skin and their four arms. They also had huge bodies and were blessed with flexible yet massive muscles.


    "She should just ept their offers¡­"


    "Yeah, whye to a ce like this alone if you aren''t looking forpany."


    Like everywhere in the multiverse, people always had different points of view of a single scene.


    "Woman! You insulted my brother! Submit yourself or I will tear you apart!"


    "Tear me apart? That''s funnying from three big chickens who are frustrated because they couldn''t manage to handle a single woman."


    "Woman! I will kill you!"


    The atmosphere turned into a serious one, and some wanted to run away, those who wanted to stop the fight, and those who watched with interest.


    Liu and herpanions were not the types of people who involved themselves with such a trivial matter so they weren''t present there. Consequently, they didn''t know about this woman''s situation.


    The woman sat alone and drank alone at a corner of the pub when these three quardons tried to hit on her and failed miserably.


    The woman was a half zelphyre, so had short ck hair, but her ears were still pointy and her eyes were emerald greens. To put it simply, she was beautiful in a different way than normal zelphyre women.


    "Humph, can you even do that?" The woman said, tempting the quadrons.


    The oldest quadron brother snapped and used two right fists and tried to punch the woman right in the face.


    "Die!"


    When everyone thought that this was the end of this woman''s life and that her face willpletely be ruined, something unexpected happened.


    sh!


    "You are full of yourself, aren''t you?"


    Before he knew it, the quadron''s hands disappeared andnded somewhere on the floor.


    "Guaaaa!" He couldn''t do anything but scream in pain.


    "Brother!"


    "Woman, I will destroy you!"


    The two remaining quadron brothers rushed at the woman like mad beasts.


    The woman was calm and she held a long ck stick in her hand. However, when she pulled the edge of the stick a ck de appeared from within, and in a blink of an eye¡­


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    ¡­ The two brothers lost their arms at their turn.


    The woman disyed an incredible sword skill, and more importantly, she was not as weak as her physique suggested.


    "This woman, she didn''t use the power of a gift¡­ It was pure sword skill and another type of power that enhanced her physical strength¡­" Cristalmented.


    Cristal and Adam just arrived but Cristal''sment made Adam realize something.


    "This is it!"

 Chapter 46 He Is Already Dead

    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    ''This woman, she is certainly rted to the master that I am looking for if she isn''t the master herself¡­''


    I didn''t know why I was lucky today but it spared me some extra work so I was grateful.


    Still, this was not the time to ask her questions, considering that just cut three muscr dudes by herself. ''She must be quite annoyed¡­''


    Considering this fact, I whispered to cristal. "Follow her and find out where she lives. We will go there tomorrow¡­"


    I wanted Cristal to revert to her cube-like form and follow this woman.


    But firstly, I needed to make sure that she wasn''t injured today because it would be a pain if she had to rest the next day.


    I looked at the scene that was unfolding in front of me and I could see that the woman was holding her ground against these three muscr dudes.


    ''Still, I wouldn''t be surprised if someone pulled a sneak attack on her¡­''


    The woman ignored the muscr dudes who groaned in pain. She walked toward the innkeeper and paid for her beverage.


    "Sorry for the ruckus, Este."


    "Don''t worry about it, these guys have been causing trouble with the female customers for a while now. I will ask my husband to take care of themter."


    "Thanks, Este."


    "Don''t mention it! But you should take care of yourself Ma?ra."


    These two women talked to each other like they were friends for a long time.


    I couldn''t help bute to another conclusion. ''This innkeeper hide this information from us¡­ Is there a reason for that?''


    I was impressed by Ma?ra''s guts though, she didn''t even give another nce at the muscr dudes.


    The crowd booed at the pathetic red-skinned men, and some strong-looking people began to surround them, people, who supported Ma?ra and acknowledged her strength.


    The three muscr dudes didn''t have a choice but to leave.


    Not long after that, Ma?ra also left the pub and I watched her from afar, trying to hide my presence.


    After she left, I waited for Cristal to make a quick report about her finding, and then I went to the room that I shared with the other three, but of course, there was not enough beds, so two of us had to sleep on the biggest bed.


    Timothyined and wanted to look for another room, but after a while, we decide to settle it with a rock-paper-scissor game.


    In the end, it was decided that Brodon and Timothy will sleep together for that night.


    ''We should probably find more rooms tomorrow if we want to stay here for a while¡­''


    *****


    The next day, Imunicated what I found out to the others. I didn''t exin in detail, but I just told them that I had some clues.


    "I will probably meet this master today, so you cane with me, Miss Liu. You wanted to meet him too, right?"


    Liu nodded and looked at the others, but I didn''t want to bring all of them with us.


    "The others can continue exploring the city if they want¡­ It would be inconvenient if go there together." I exined.


    Everyone nodded at what I said, it looked like they all found something interesting to do, apart from one guy.


    "Are you saying that we should leave Miss Liu alone with you?" Timothy looked like he was more interested ining with Liu rather than doing anything else.


    "No, Cristal wille with us too," I replied. I didn''t want this guy around, as he might screw up the whole thing.


    "Hmph! I aming with you." Timothy said in a very annoying tone.


    I looked at Liu, trying to gauge her reaction.


    However, I didn''t even need to say anything.


    "Yelena, Timothy, this may be the only chance for you to rx, so enjoy it while you can," Liu said. Her expression didn''t change, but I could discern a faint gentleness in her voice.


    "But!" Timothy wanted to rebuke, but when he saw Liu''s gaze, he closed his mouth.


    ''I guess Liu is also concerned about herpanions¡­ Or is there something more?''


    I didn''t know much about the kind of rtionship between Liu and herpanions, but it seemed like they worshiped her and treated her as their superior rather than their friend.


    They were very enthusiastic when it came to things rted to Liu, and they wanted to stick with her all day.


    I bet Liu noticed this too and wanted them to do something different for once, and take this opportunity to do so.


    "I understand, Miss Liu," Yelena answered. She looked like she was also unwilling to let Liu move around by herself.


    "Then it''s decided. We will meet here again in the evening."


    I hope I didn''t sound too forceful, because thesest few days, I felt like I was taking more and more decisions by myself.


    *****<sub> </sub>


    "Miss Liu, how are you feeling about all of this? I mean, you just kind of went along with it until now¡­"


    On the way to Ma?ra''s ce, I didn''t miss the opportunity to strike up a conversation with Liu.


    I didn''t know if Cristal realized my intention but she walked a bit ahead of us.


    I was feeling a little bit conflicted. I wanted to get closer to Liu but I didn''t want to let my guard down and regret itter.


    It was a veryplex issue to tackle. ''Am I doing the right thing?''


    "¡­ You picked my interest. That''s all." Liu said.


    I didn''t know what she meant by that but I guessed that she referred to my challenge.


    "I see."


    The conversation kind of ended there. ''Why is it so hard to keep up a casual conversation. Am I boring?''


    I looked at Liu and she had her eyes set on a particr-looking fruit.


    Seeing this, I walked toward the vendor and asked him about the fruits.


    "Hello, are these fruits edible?"


    "Hello there, young man. Hahaha, yes they are edible, I wouldn''t sell them if they aren''t."


    "I see, can you give me three of those."


    I bought the fruits and gave one to Liu and ate one myself. ''Since we are here, might as well try new foods¡­''


    "Thanks," Liu said.


    It seemed like she was curious about the fruits. ''I see, so she likes to eat weird things¡­ I mean, varieties of food¡­ No, that doesn''t say anything about her preference. Does she like fruits, or maybe sweet things?''


    "Mmm! This is good!"


    The particr-looking blue fruit was more delicious than I expected, and Liu looked like she agreed with me.


    "Yes, it''s delicious."


    I smiled a little bit seeing Liu''s eyes fixated on the fruit. She realized that I was looking at her and she averted her eyes and looked at Verte instead. I didn''t know that she had this kind of reaction too.


    ''Isn''t she cute? Hey, it will be hard for me to fight you seriouslyter if you do that¡­'' I thought to myself.


    "We walked for a while now, let me hold Verte a bit."


    "Okay."


    We took turns carrying Verte while walking, as Verte was a little bit heavy. I was sure that it wasn''t a hard task for Liu, but I wanted to be a little bit considerate as a man should be.


    Verte wanted to eat the fruit too but it was too hard for her since she didn''t have teeth yet.


    "No, you can''t eat this¡­ We will buy something elseter."


    After that, we continued to walk, and finally, we arrived at Ma?ra''s ce.


    It was situated next to a huge tree and a little bit far from the crowded city.


    As expected of this city, the whole ce was built on top of tree roots, and some parts of the building were even carved inside of them. The design of the building was a little bit average, considering that they just cut and carved the tree''s roots and then built the house with these materials. But still, it was bigger than I expected even though it didn''t have any floors.


    p ''This ce looks like it was built by a single person.''</anda>


    I walked to the front door and knocked.


    Tok! Tok!


    "Hello, is anyone inside? I am looking for Miss Ma?ra."


    After a few minutes, no one answered, and I knocked again.


    Tok! Tok! Tok!


    "Who is there?"


    Finally, someone answered and opened the door.


    I was shocked to see a woman wearing some kind of light clothing that exposed her mature charms and voluptuous body. Her hair was disheveled and she looked like she had just woken up.


    I immediately recognized her face. "Are you Miss Ma?ra? I am Adam and I want to talk with you."


    "Who? What do you need?" Ma?ra said she was more or less uninterested in what I said. She didn''t even intend to let us in.


    "I was looking for you, or most precisely a swordsman that could help me learn some sword skills."


    "Mm? You''ve got the wrong person, I am no swordsman and there''s no such a swordsman here. That old man already kicked the bucket!"


    "What? He is dead?"

 Chapter 47 A Light Demonstration Of Power

    "Now go, I don''t have time to waste with you."


    Ma?ra was about to close the door but I wasn''t finished with her, so I blocked the door with my foot, I couldn''t possibly just leave like that.


    "Wait a little bit! Are you saying that the legendary master is already dead?"


    "Legendary master? That old man was just a lunatic who was obsessed with martial arts, but in the end, that''s what killed him." Ma?ra frowned as she spat these words. It seemed like she held grudge against this master, but at the end of her sentence, she seemed a little bit regretful.


    More importantly, I wasn''t ready for such a revtion. ''If the master already passed away, then what am I going to do?''


    "He was your master?"


    If this Ma?ra was the disciple of this master, then there might be some hope. I was also thinking about asking if he left some notes or books where he recorded his experiences.


    "This discussion ends here, kid. Now go away!"


    Ma?ra looked like she was annoyed by my question and insisted strongly that we leave.


    "I can''t do that, Miss Ma?ra." I looked at Ma?ra straight in the eyes as I said these words. "I traveled from the Capital toe here to learn from this master. There are too many things riding on this, I can''t return empty-handed."


    "That''s not my problem, kid."


    "Then, tell me, what should I do to convince you to teach me the skills that you demonstrated at the pub yesterday."


    I wasn''t expecting this turn of events but there was still hope for me to learn that technique.


    "Kid, I won''t say this again, go away!"


    "I take the risk!"


    "Don''t test me¡­"


    Ma?ra and I faced each other and the atmosphere tensed up.


    Boom!


    To our surprise, it was not Ma?ra or me who made a move, but someone else.


    Part Ma?ra''s house just exploded and the sound of the explosion echoed throughout the whole area.


    "What do we have here? Two women, a kid, and a baby. Are you telling me that you guys were beaten up by these women?"


    A red-skinned creature, almost three meters tall appeared out of nowhere, and he had a bunch of underlings with him.


    Smash!


    The three meters tall creature smashed his fist onto the face of one of his underlings.


    Crash!


    The poor guy flew a few meters backward before crashing to a tree root.


    "I am not a bad guy. If you two ept to service me for one night, then I will let this go. I am even willing to let the kid and the baby go. These guys were weak, but they are still part of the n you see." The red-skinned guy talked with such arrogance and didn''t even care about my existence.


    ''Why do I feel like everyone treat me like a kidtely?'' I thought, It got on my nerves.


    "Miss Ma?ra, it looks like these people came for you¡­ I will take care of them, so you''ll owe me a favor. You may have excellent sword skills, but you are still giftless, you can''t win against them alone," I said.


    "You, how do you know that?"


    There should be a lot of ways to find out about Ma?ra''s power, but as for me, I just used my ability. ''She could move even when I used my power, so of course, I know¡­''


    "Don''t forget your promise miss Ma?ra," I said.


    "I didn''t promise anything, kid!"


    *****


    "Huh? What do you want kid?" The red skinned guy said as arrogantly as possible.


    I ignoring his arrogance, I walked toward the arrogant the guy, and I wasn''t about to start a friendly conversation.


    "If you apologize to thesedies now, I am willing to spare two of your arms," I said as clearly as possible, emphasising the word ''apologize'' and ''spare.''


    "What? Hahaha¡­ Did you see that? The kid threatened me¡­ Aaaaaa, mommy, I am so scared." The red-skinned guy and his underlings burst intoughter as they mocked me.


    I didn''t let any kind of expression show on my face even after hearing thierughter.


    "You know, I was just saying, just in case you wanted to live," I said that, and when I said these words, they stoppedughing and looked at me.


    "You are unlucky kid, I just decided that I will kill you and make these women my ve," the red-skinned guy said, and his words shocked me.


    Not because I was scared, but I was thinking about the bnce of power in this country.


    ''Does this country adopt the rules of the strong?'' From the sound of it, things like very weren''t a rare urrence in this country. ''Still, man, I was going to take it easy on him but¡­''


    "You shouldn''t have said that¡­" I said, and I was saying it in a calm voice, but my patience reached its limit.


    I was on the edge thest few days and I needed to relieve some pressure. ''me your luck¡­''


    Fire particles gathered on the creature''s palm and an orb of fire took shape.


    The orb of fire grew bigger and bigger and I felt the heat emitting from it even though I was still a few meters away.


    He wanted to incinerate it without leaving any trace.


    "Die insect!"


    A fireball bigger than my body headed toward me at full speed.


    "What are you doing kid?!" I could hear Miss Ma?ra saying something behind me, but I was not concerned about a mere fireball at all.


    Despite everyone''s expectations, I walked straight inside the ball of fire and was engulfed by red crimson mes.


    Boom!


    "Hahaha! What a wonderful sight!"


    The red-skinned guy had a twisted look on his ugly face as he looked at me, but I could see him and his expression was about to change.


    "Is that so?" I said, as I continued walking forward nonchntly and everyone''s eyes widened.


    There was not a trace of burn anywhere on my clothes.


    "You, how are you still alive?" The guy asked with a dumbfounded expression, and he didn''t look as arrogant as before.


    "I don''t know, I was just walking and a breeze of wind stroked my face gently," I replied.


    The red-skinned guy''s face reddened even more and it his face turned into a tomato.


    "Hahaha! It seems like you can use some trick kid¡­ But I am a level 7 gift-holder and-"


    "So what? You are a gift holder, so what?!" I didn''t let him finish his sentence and he was even more enraged.


    "Die!"


    This time he attacked me with four fireballs, and the shockwave created by the impact knocked away a few tree roots and created a huge smokescreen.


    The smell of burnt was prominent in the air and dusts covered the area around me.


    "I didn''t expect to use that much power on small fry. I hope the women didn''t turn into charcoal with him. Go fetch the women!" The red skinned guy said with a triumphant look on his face.


    "Don''t get the wrong idea. You are only alive because I want you to understand something." I once again appeared from inside the smoke screen unharmed.


    The red-skinned guy looked at me as if he couldn''t believe his eyes.<sub> </sub>


    I continued to walk forward slowly, but undoubtedly. "I don''t get pissed off often," I added, "but when I do, this is what happens¡­"


    "It seems like you are not a small fry! You deserve to challenge me!" He said, looking like a wrestler who was about to finish his opponents, but unfortunately, he chose the wrong opponent.


    "Challenge? Mark my words, I will count until ten, and when I reach ten, you will kneel in front of me, begging for your life," I said, with an unwavering look of confedence on my face. "Then, you will know how insignificant you are."


    "Hahaha! You are a funny kid, let''s see what you''ve got!"


    Fiery mes enveloped the creature''s body and the temperature within the area increased dramatically.


    Some of the tree roots burned down and turned into charcoal and the ground turned intova.


    This was the full power of the level 7 gift-holder.


    It was true that it would not do much against a minotaur, but it was not something to be taken lightly.


    Yeah, if it was someone else¡­


    Four fire pirs taller than five meters appeared next to the creature and he controlled them.


    "It''s toote even if you want to apologize, die!"


    Fooosh!


    The fire pirs rushed toward me one by one.


    Still¡­


    "One."


    I walked through the first first pir unscathed.


    "Two."


    The second fire pir collided with me, but I continued to walk forward still unharmed.


    "Three."


    The third fire pir wasn''t effective as the previous one.


    "Four."


    Seeing that the fourth fire pir failed to burn me to death, the red-skinned guy took a step back unconsciously.


    "What is this? Who are you?"


    "Five."


    "Attack him! Kill him!"


    Even his underlying were dumbfounded and only came to their sense after hearing the boss''s order.


    They began to attack me with their power two, but the result was the same.


    "Six."


    The red-skinned guy''s expression began to change. It was obvious that he began to panic.


    "Seven."


    "Aaaaaaa!"


    He bombarded me with fireballs, enough to destroy a small vige.


    But unfortunately for him¡­


    "Eight."


    "What are you? Why are you still alive?! Kill him!"


    Some of his underlings tried tounch a frontal attack at me, but of course, they stopped moving once they got close to me.


    I was d that they were all gift holders.


    "Nine."


    I was finally in front of the red-skinned guy and held my sword in front of my chest with both hands.


    Every time I took a step forward, he took a step back, until he couldn''t move anymore and the mes that enveloped his body disappeared.


    Then I activated the sma sword, and the red neon light enlightened my face as I looked at the guy who couldn''t move anymore.


    "Ten. Now kneel, or die!"


    I deactivated my power for a bit, and the guy instantly fell to his knees, as if all of his power left him.


    Even when he was on his knees, his face was still in front of mine.


    "I will tell you my secret. The stronger you are, the helpless you be in front of me. You didn''t lose because you are weak, you lost because you fought against me."


    I stabbed the guy in the shoulder.


    "Don''t move, or I will kill you all along with your boss!" I warned the other guys who were trying to pull off a sneak attack.


    "Guuaaah!" The guy screamed in pain, but every time he tried to use his power, I prevented him.


    I made sure that he understood that he couldn''t do anything to me and that he waspletely helpless.


    "So, what were you saying again?"


    "Sorry¡­ I didn''t know¡­ Spare me, I will never do this again¡­"


    I pulled out my sword from his left shoulder and stabbed his other shoulder.


    "Guahh!"


    He tried to activate his power again, but it didn''t change anything.


    His underling watched me with eyes full of terror.


    I pulled out my sword and¡­


    sh!


    I cut off one of his arms.


    "Guahh!"


    Then I grabbed his hair and forced him to look at me.


    "Remember what I said. Every time you hear me count to 10 you will lose another arm, so make sure that I don''t see your face when I reach 10. Now scram!"


    The red-skinned guy and his underlings left the ce quickly.


    I sighed while looking at them.


    ''Ipletely lost my cool¡­ I was about to cut his head off. Fortunately, I remembered that Liu and Verte were watching.''


    I deactivated my sword and put it back on my hip.


    ''Maybe he was lucky that Liu came here with me¡­''

 Chapter 48 Deal

    :::[Third person POV]:::


    The smell of burnt was still prominent in the air, and smokes from the craters rose to the sky. There were even some tree roots that were still burning but Liu used her power to extinguish them.


    "I am sorry that you had to witness that Miss Liu, I lost my cool when he belittled you."


    Adam walked toward Liu and Ma?ra as if nothing happened but Ma?ra was stupefied by Adam''s disy of power.


    ''Who is this kid?'' She wondered.


    Even though Adam''s face was broadcasted all over the, not everyone saw it.  And even if they saw him, they would still doubt their eyes when they were in front of the real thing.


    As for Liu, she just nodded slightly and she still had a poker face. She couldn''t help but reevaluate Adam. ''He stronger than I expected. I can''t assess his true abilities.''


    Liu became a bit wary of Adam and considered his challenge more seriously.


    However, these two women didn''t know that Adam was extremely relieved that it didn''t turn into a mess. ''The trick was to make it seems like you are invincible¡­ If those who did not possess the gift attacked me then I would have had a hard time.''


    In the end, all that mattered was the result no matter what trick Adam used. As long as the enemy didn''t catch up to this trick, then he had the upper hand. ''But such a thing wouldn''t always work, that''s why I need Ma?ra''s help.''


    "I took care of the bad guys as we agreed Miss Ma?ra, now will you listen to my request?"


    "I didn''t agree to such a thing¡­ And you are already that strong, you even have a particr gift, so why do you want to learn such an obscure technique?"


    Ma?ra didn''t find any reason for Adam to learn a technique that was far weakerpared to the power of a gift. In the first ce, this technique was created by a giftless man who was desperate to change his fate.


    "That''s the problem Miss Ma?ra, I am weak. I may lose my life or lose people that are important to me if I don''t get stronger."


    "Then you should increase your gift mastery. Why the hell would you learn sword skills when you haven''t mastered your gift yet. You should aim for level 10 or something¡­"


    Ma?ra was a little bit annoyed by Adam''s im and thought that he was just trying to sound cool.


    But Adam looked at Ma?ra with serious eyes. "Do you think that I wouldn''t have done that already if could? But I can''t, no matter how much I train, my power won''t increase and my body won''t be able to get stronger than an average human. This is a very particr situation and normal solutions wouldn''t do anything much."


    What Adam said was right, because the way he was now, he would be crushed by his power sooner orter. Normal gifts increased the holders'' physique and transformed their bodies little by little to be able to withstand the change that was happening to them so they can evolve into a different kind of being altogether. For example, Liu''s could withstand extremely cold temperatures.


    But for Adam, it was different. His power was not something that evolved, it was already somethingplete and absolute, however, Adam himself was still a normal human. So even if he trained, his body won''t evolve with his power, at least if he trained normally.


    "What kind of nonsense is that? Are you taking me for a fool?"


    "No, I am serious. And if you help me, I will pay for the reparation of your house. So what do you think?"


    Adam pointed at the huge hole on the wall of Ma?ra''s house.


    Ma?ra had never seen someone so eager to learn from that old man.


    ''He would have been over the moon if he was still around.'' She thought.


    In the end, she didn''t understand Adam''s circumstances, but she just thought that her master would have helped Adam if he was still alive.


    "Tch! Sorry, I still can''t help you, but I can give you something that might help."


    "Really? Thank you very much!"


    Ma?ra gestured for Adam to follow her.


    "I suggest you not expect much from that geezer."


    Ma?ra finally invited Adam, Liu, and Cristal inside.


    During all of that, Cristal was great at hiding her presence and it felt like she was part of the background.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    "Wow, there''s a training ground inside."


    I didn''t expect to see that Ma?ra''s ce was even spacious inside. There were a lot of rooms and a huge training ground.


    ''They build all of this inside of the tree''s body?''


    No matter how ridiculous it sounded, the tree was more than hundreds of meters tall and its width was not something that to scoff at.


    If someone managed to cut down one of these trees then they would be able to build almost thousands of small houses where a family of four could live in.


    "That geezer dreamed of creating his martial arts school, but in the end, he didn''t even manage to recruit three disciples before he kicked the bucket." Ma?ra still spoke as if she held grudge against this master.


    After that, we arrived in front of a room that looked like it wasn''t opened for a long time.


    I deduced that this might be the room of this legendary master and that his secrets were stored there.


    ''Even if it''s just a book written by this master, it should include a sort of method that will help me to discover the secret behind his technique.''


    My goal was to increase my physical power so that I can withstand my evolution to the next level of existence after I find the fragments. It will also help me to defend against frontal attacks and increase my fighting ability.<sub> </sub>


    Ma?ra opened the door and a puff of dust came out of the room. It was clear that she didn''t open this door for a few years.


    "Here you go. Search for what you are looking for by yourself. I still have work to do."


    "Do you live here alone?" I asked Ma?ra out of curiosity.


    "Do you see anyone else around?"


    I looked around and there was no one.


    "So no one uses these rooms?"


    "Are you dumb?"


    I had an idea. ''If I want to train, then wouldn''t this ce be perfect?''


    The ce was spacious and there was a training ground with a lot of equipment. There were also a lot of vacant rooms, probably intended for the disciples.


    "What if we rented them for a while?"


    "What?"


    "I will pay the double for a casual VIP room."


    Ma?ra pondered for a while before answering. "Deal. But you need to pay in advance. And I must warn you, these rooms are not particrly luxurious."


    "That will be fine."


    "Okay, let''s continue this discussionter."


    Ma?ra left her room and I was alone with Liu and Cristal again.


    "What are going to do, Miss Liu? I suggest you wait for a little bit because it''s very dusty inside and it would be harmful to Verte, and your clothes will get dirty."


    "Okay, I will wait there."


    Liu pointed at a nice-looking ce full of flowers. It reminded me of the Royal garden but it had this atmosphere of wilderness about it.


    As I watched Liu walking away, for some reason, I felt like themunication between me and Liucked and the distance between us didn''t decrease; she was still like a stranger.


    There was a wall that prevented us from getting closer to one another.


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    Liu was lost in her thoughts as she gazed at the flowers on the horizon.


    There was another reason why she decided to go with Adam, but she wouldn''t tell anyone else.


    ''Brother¡­''


    Her brother was a very cheerful person. He wanted to go on an adventure, learn something new and discover the world.


    Liu admired her brother who despite being brilliant and intelligent, was also very kind towards her.


    But her heart had long closed up¡­ Her brother was not the one she once loved anymore, and she knew that these days were lost forever.


    The ce that she called home turned into a ce that tortured her heart to no end, and at her turn, she also lost her smile.


    But Liu had to stay strong, for her sake and her brother''s. She promised herself that she would change her n with her own hands.


    Yet¡­


    ''I don''t want to return to that ce¡­''


    She was a little bit envious of Adam as she watched him from afar. From her point of view, he was free and blessed¡­


    ''I can''t understand why he wants to get involved with that side of the world¡­''


    Liu knew that when someone got entangled with that side of the world, they changepletely as if they were being corrupted. That was why she hesitated to involve Adam in all of this, even if it turned out that Adam was rted to her mission.


    Liu knew that Adam was different from the people that she met until now. She couldn''t exin it well. He seemed like he knew what he was doing, but at the same time, he looked like he was just walking forward blindly and following his emotions.


    He looked weak but at the same time invincible, extremely kind but very cunning and cold-hearted.


    Adam reminded her of her brother, someone that she had lost.


    In the end, all of this was no more than an excuse to not return to that ce, and Liu knew that, but she couldn''t help it.


    Her heart was tired...

 Chapter 49 Double-Edged Sword

    "What the hell is wrong with this guy?!"


    After skimming through the archives left by the legendary master, I concluded: ''This guy is nuts!''


    After almost two hours of reading and the only thing that I had learned from all the things he wrote was: ''Learn the basics until you are half dead! Surpass your limits by repeating the basics! Don''t give up even if you don''t feel any progress, as long as you stick to the basics, you''ll be able to advance into a new realm of existence!''


    "Cristal, I think we''ve got the wrong person!"


    "Don''t give up yet, master. He didn''t say anything wrong."


    "But I don''t even know from what kind of basics should I start with!"


    I didn''t want toe to this ce for nothing, because if the legendary technique was to stick to the basics then I could have done that at home.


    "Master, I found something interesting in this one."


    "Let me see."


    I read the book that Cristal handed to me and it seemed like it was more detailed than the others.


    "Mmmm¡­ All of the things described here are the basics method of training."


    I examined the books and when I was about to lose interest, I found an interesting note.


    [This is myst book. I spent many years searching for ways to pass down my technique to future generations, but most of them failed. I have concluded that even among the giftless person, only those who had talents and determination could learn this technique. I have also found out that this technique was iplete and there are serious drawbacks. It seems like I have failed. I don''t have much time left¡­]


    As I read the note, I kind of understood why everything he wrote focused on the basics. It was because everything else failed¡­ And it was not because the methods were ineffective, it was because only a few people could learn the actual technique.


    [ Last year, someone managed to learn my technique, but at that time, I didn''t discover the drawbacks yet¡­ I regret it now¡­ Did I waste my life?]


    ''It seems like I won''t find anything that could help me here¡­ The only one who can help me is Ma?ra. But for some reason, she seems to hold a grudge against her master. Is it because of the drawbacks of the technique?''


    I had to talk with Ma?ra again because she was probably the only one who knows about the best way to learn this technique.


    *****


    "I am sorry Miss Liu, Ipletely lost track of time. Why don''t youe back to the inn for now, and talk to the others if you want to move here or not? Cristal will apany you. I still need to talk with Miss Ma?ra."


    I was so engrossed in my search and lost track of time, and before I knew it, Liu waited for almost two hours. ''I hope she isn''t angry...This is a really bad habit of mine¡­ I think I still need to be considerate of other people.''


    "Okay."


    Liu nodded a bit and immediately walked away; Cristal followed her closely.


    ''Is she angry? I think she is angry¡­ What should I do now? I don''t have a single idea¡­ I think that apology is not enough at times like this¡­ But I have already apologized and she was the one who wanted toe with me, and I was just being considerate¡­ But somehow I feel like I am at fault¡­ I need a book that exins how tomunicate with quiet girls.''


    I watched Liu walking away with all of these thoughts inside my head. Maybe it was just my impression but I felt like the rtionship between Liu and me was a little bitplicated.


    ''I somehow lose my ability to think rationally when she looks at me with these eyes¡­ I automatically wear a poker face and a smile appear on my face for some reason. Is this behavior normal?''


    Well, I was probably overthinking things like usual. ''I should just ask her¡­ But what should I ask her? For example, should I approach her and ask: Hey Liu, what do you think of me?''


    She would probably look at me with cold eyes that could freeze me to death. But I read, probably somewhere on the inte, that some girls tended to take a cold approach when it came to the boys they liked. ''Maybe she was just giving the cold shoulder treatment, right? Ha-ha-ha¡­ Man, that was close, don''t give me that hope¡­ Why the hell am I even thinking about that now?''


    I shook my head in disbelief as walked around the area in search of Ma?ra''s room.


    The ce was not small at all and someone could get lost inside.


    ''How much effort that guy did put into making this ce? He was really serious about creating a kind of dojo¡­ I kinda feel bad for him. I guess things don''t always go the way we want them to.''


    Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!


    I heard grinding soundsing from somewhere and I deduced that it must be Ma?ra''s doing. I followed the sound until I arrived in form of a half-closed door.


    I wanted to knock but curiosity got the better of me, so I took a peek from the gap.


    And when I did, I was bewildered by what I saw. ''I didn''t expect her to do this kind of work¡­''


    Tok! Tok!


    "Miss Ma?ra, I need to talk with you for a bit. Can Ie in?"


    "Hm? What do you need?"


    <o>,m I entered the room and inspected the surroundings.</o>


    "I didn''t expect you to be knowledgeable about herbs Miss Ma?ra."


    "Hm? Well, I need to make money in some way or another."


    I was looking at what Ma?ra was doing and I noticed that she was making some kind of potion.


    "I noticed that most of these herbs are growing right outside. Are you cultivating them?"<sub> </sub>


    "Yeah, more or less. That old man nted them there."


    Ma?ra continued her work without stopping while talking to me, and she was very good at what she was doing.


    "Ah yes, concerning your master, I didn''t find anything useful at all. But I found this¡­"


    "I told you to not expect anything from that old man¡­"


    I handed the book where the master''s final note was written.


    "You should probably read it if you haven''t yet."


    From the look of it, it seemed like Ma?ra didn''t even want to step inside of that room after her master passed away.


    Ma?ra hesitated a little bit before taking the book that I had already opened on the page where the note was written.


    "Hahaha¡­ So stupid¡­" Ma?ra wasughing as she read the note but it sounded a little bit forced.


    "Miss Ma?ra, please tell me, what is the drawback that he is talking about?"


    I knew that Miss Ma?ra didn''t want to discuss topics rted to her master but I needed to know.


    Ma?ra looked me in the eyes.


    I didn''t flinch and kept myposure, showing that I was extremely serious about this.


    "It shortens your lifespan¡­ It burns your life force because that''s the only thing that a giftless person can give in exchange for more power."


    Ma?ra looked a little bit sad and lonely as she said these words.


    Still, I couldn''t give up¡­


    "Miss Ma?ra, please teach this technique to me¡­"


    "What? Didn''t you hear what I said?"


    "No, I heard you but I have a solution¡­ But first, will you listen to my story?"


    I activated my power and talked in a low voice. This was necessary to prevent any kind of supernatural form of spying to record what I said.


    I also made sure that no one followed me. That was why I walked around the area before looking for Ma?ra. ording to Cristal, no one followed us, but I did that just in case.


    After I was sure that no one listened, I decided to tell Miss Ma?ra my story. My reincarnation, my power, and everything. I needed to learn this technique, so I told her what I she needed to know. ''This is a test...''


    For some reason, it felt like a heavy height was lifted from my chest, and felt a little bit relieved.


    Unless Miss Ma?ra trusted me, she would never teach me that technique because she knew its drawback and she would indirectly kill someone if she did.


    I needed her to know that my power could nullify this drawback. I wasn''t sure if that was the case, but I would die sooner orter anyway if I didn''t make any progress. ''I wish all of this would be lessplicated¡­''


    "Are you alright in the head?" Miss Ma?ra asked as she looked at me with eyes full of pity.


    "I am perfectly sane, Miss Ma?ra. And everything that I told you earlier was true."


    "It''s more concerning when you reply like that. They should have specialist that deals with this kind of illness in the capital, right? Why don''t you begin with that? Don''t worry, from what I can see, there is still some hope for you."


    "Miss Ma?ra, I wish that all of this was just a joke, nothing more than a dream. Unfortunately, it isn''t and I must live with it. I wish I could just enjoy my life without going through all of this¡­ But, I couldn''t let the people that I care about die. I don''t want to remain a coward, so I decided to face this world head-on."


    I talked in a serious tone and I was not angry at Ma?ra''s words.


    When Ma?ra saw that I was dead serious, she sighed and stopped working.


    "The old man spent all of his life perfecting this technique, but it''s iplete¡­ Do you know why?"


    "Because not everyone can learn it?"


    "That was one reason, but also, because he couldn''t understand his technique."


    "But you did, right?"


    It seemed like even after her master died, Miss Ma?ra never stopped searching for a way to perfect his technique.


    She didn''t hate him, she was angry at her master because he chose to perfect his technique over his own life.


    I looked at Miss Ma?ra and asked this important question. The first key to my sess.


    "I never expected that I would meet someone as stubborn and weird as you. Let''s begin tomorrow."


    "Begin what? Are you going to help me?"


    "More or less¡­ But let''s discuss the tuition fees first."

 Chapter 50 Villain’s Skill?

    After talking to Ma?ra, I headed back to the inn, and on the way, I rethought my discussion with Ma?ra.


    I couldn''t trust her yet, and to be honest, she was no more than a stranger so just the thought of me telling her the whole truth was illogical.


    ''Yup, I won''t take such a risk¡­''


    That was why I told her my version of everything, in other words, my version of the truth, and I also included some minor details like, ''this was my fourth reincarnation.''


    Furthermore, I added another minor twist and exined that most of the events that I was talking about happened during my first previous reincarnations, and only my power remained when I came to this world. ''My power of nullification, that is¡­ I didn''t tell her about the other kind of powers that I might have because I don''t even know about them myself.''


    I felt I was doing something bad. ''Am I bing a bad guy?''


    I heard that a real viin could manipte their targets with words only. Things like: ''Saying the truth is the best way to hide the real truth¡­''


    So in a way, I told her everything I knew. Still, it turned into an extremely unbelievable story and that must be why she treated me as insane. Well, as long as she had an idea about the origin of my power and how it worked, then it was fine¡­


    ''I still need to work a bit on my viin skills. Hahaha¡­''


    Of course, I was half-joking when this thought crossed my mind.


    But there were other reasons why I used kind of method. The master left another note, and its content was very concerning.


    Firstly, I wanted to gauge Ma?ra''s reaction. ''I wanted to know how people would react if I told them about my situation. And yes, people still find it hard to believe even in this world, the idea of reincarnation that is.''


    That was why when said: "Miss Ma?ra, to tell you the truth, I reincarnated in this world, and this is my fourth reincarnation," she looked at me as if I was a clown.


    I admit that trying to tell her my story, even if it was just my version of the truth, was still a foolish idea, now that I thought about it again.


    At that moment, I was convinced that it was a very good idea. ''Really, I think I need more than just my power if I want to mature in other areas¡­''


    My goal was to test Ma?ra, and even though she didn''t seem to understand what I said, her master certainly knew something about people from other worlds.


    There was also another reason. In one of his notes, the master wrote: "That man gave me a clue but I couldn''t manage to find the final answer. How did he find out about my potential anyway? What a mysterious man¡­"


    ''I can deduce from this fact that only a handful of people know about people from other worlds... And those who know are certainly not normal people.''


    This was the only time the master talked about this mysterious man, and I couldn''t help but think that the man that he was talking about was not from this world. ''I hope I am wrong, because if so, then¡­. Sigh¡­ I bet it''s another problem to deal with.''


    Anyway, I managed to convince Ma?ra by making her think that I was so desperate and invented nonsenses just to convince her. ''Or at least, that was my goal...''


    I also demonstrated my power a little bit so she was persuaded that I could nullify the drawbacks.


    Well, I used her emotions for her master to do that, and she swallowed my version of the truth.


    Besides, I learned something from that conversation. I realized that I needed to work on persuasion and maniption skills. I also realized that talking about my situation to other people was a bad idea.


    ''I was considering telling everything to Liu at some point, but I guess I was just too excited and wanted to sound cool by telling her my cool backstory¡­ I thought that sharing a secret just between the two of us will help with the evolution of our rtionship¡­ Hahaha¡­ I guess I am just a man after all¡­ That was close.''


    *****


    After discussing with the others, Liu decided to move to Ma?ra''s house with me, and of course, everyone else followed her.


    ''Wasn''t she angry with me though? I thought that she didn''t want to see me anymore after that¡­ After all, girls are like that, right?''


    As usual, Timothyined a lot when he saw the rooms. He said something like they were not appropriate for Liu.


    "Are trying to make fun of us?" He said.


    "So what kind of room do you want?" I asked him. I wanted to know why this guy behaved like that when it came to Liu.


    Timothy began to describe the dream room where Liu needed to sleep in. ''How much does this guy fantasize about Liu?''


    "Okay, let''s renovate rooms ourselves!" I announced.


    Then I wrapped my arm around his neck and whispered in a low voice. "Timothy, wouldn''t it be great if you could make Liu''s room yourself? Liu will sleep on the bed you prepared for her you know¡­"


    "Humph! What are you talking about? Timothy pushed away my hand as if he was angry, but his face betrayed him. "So when are we going to that?"


    Timothy was an easy guy to manipte. ''Or did my maniption skill improve?''


    "We can begin now, let''s go shopping together. Tomorrow, we can renovate the rooms and have a big party in the evening. This will be my way of thanking you for bringing me here," I said.


    Everyone looked a little bit surprised.


    ''Come on guys, I am just being a little bit friendly with you because my opinions of you improved¡­'' I thought, and I didn''t say it out loud, but I also kind of understood their reaction.


    "A party huh? Sounds good to me¡­" Zax said. "Anyway, can you buy me parts too¡­ I am inventing something new and surprisingly, there are rare items here."


    ''Isn''t she bold now?'' I thought to myself as I looked at the petite girl in front of me. ''Well, she is like a small and cute animal so why not¡­''


    "Okay, but I want to see your inventionster¡­"


    "''Kay."<sub> </sub>


    I wanted to see the reaction of the others so I talked to them one by one as they inspected the room and the area. I was d that I spent time observing thesest few days.


    "Mr. Brodon, can we trust you with the food? I bet you have something you want to try¡­"


    "Haha¡­ You know your stuff kid," Brondon answered.


    It seemed like I managed to bring Brandon and Timothy on my side.


    As for Feldenis¡­


    ''What is he doing with Ma?ra?''


    I looked at Feldenis who had an expression who had an expression that I had never seen on his face when he talked to Ma?ra, looking at the area full of herbs and flowers.


    "Miss Ma?ra, this flower, don''t tell me that this is an Orchdideusmalin, a very rare type of nt. I never dreamed that I would see it with my own eyes!"


    "Is that so?" Ma?ra answered.


    I pretended to not see that. ''I guess he is okay with it too¡­''


    "Yelena, Timothy, you like to drink right? Why don''t you guys look for local delicacies?"


    "Hmph, don''t give me order Adam." Yelena didn''t even look at me.


    But I had another idea.


    "Hey, Timothy! I believe that Liu is the type of woman who doesn''t get drunk easily, but who knows, it may still affect her and she may show us a side of her that we''ve never seen before. Don''t you want to see that?" I whispered to him.


    "¡­"


    Timothy didn''t say anything but his face betrayed him. I handed him enough money and he took them, then he walked other Yelena. ''That''s settled too¡­''


    I was a little bit proud of myself there. I managed to ask people to have a party, and I was the one who proposed the idea¡­


    ''Now, what am I going to do with Liu?''


    Liu didn''t say anything, and I couldn''t guess from her face if she was okay with it or not.


    I approached her and tried to talk to her. I had something in my mind. "Miss Liu, it''s not much, but this was the only way I could find to express my thanks¡­ I hope you will be able to enjoy the party."


    Liu looked at me and nodded.


    ''What was that? Is that an okay sign? What is she thinking? I can''t guess at all¡­''


    After that, we strolled around the city and bought everything we needed to renovate the rooms and for the party.


    For some reason, I ended up with Liu, Cristal, Verte, and Zax.


    Liu didn''t ask me to buy anything at all, she just looked at everything as if she was inspecting them, unlike Zax who became very greedy and acted too familiar with me.


    ''She is way too excited¡­ She looks like a little kid. I can''t believe that she is older than Liu.''


    In the end, we didn''t have a choice but rent a little floating vehicle to transport all of the materials that we bought as we moved around. ''Girls like shopping, don''t they?''


    Even Liu bought one thing or two with her own money. I felt like I failed as a man when I saw her doing that.


    As we visited the shops one by one, I came across something very interesting.


    "Excuse me, what is this?"


    The shop sold jewelry and precious stones, but one of them picked my attention. It was a very beautiful blue stone. ''It looks like Liu''s eyes¡­''


    A zelphyre man who looked like he was already past his prime took a look at the stone that I pointed at.


    "Hmmm¡­ You have good eyes kid. This is a dragon stone. It''s a fragment of a dragon''s heart that undergo a rare process of crystallization." The shopkeeper exined.


    ''I guess all shopkeepers say that line, ''you have good eyes¡­'' in every world.''


    I liked the stone and I wanted to give it to Liu so I bought it anyway.


    On the way back, Cristal whispered something to me.


    "I know that you make some progress in every way but don''t overdo it, master. Remember your goal, and one step at a time."


    "Okay."


    I didn''t notice it myself but was I acting strangely?


    ''I guess, I was acting out of my character... But isn''t that what to change means? Well, Cristal''s right, I can''t overdo it...''

 Chapter 51 Good Times...

    The next day, we began the renovation of the rooms and everything went smoothly.


    At that moment, I realized that my investment in Zax paid off.


    She was very good at repairing things, but overall she was very good with her hands and she was very imaginative. ''She is a real genius¡­''


    I couldn''t help but admire her for this, and she was also very hardworking even with her petite body.


    As for the others, Timothy and Yelena helped Brodon with the food, and Feldenis was discussing with Ma?ra all day and helped her with her work.


    ''I bet these two will get married soon¡­'' I couldn''t help but smile when I thought about this. ''Why am I only attracted to problematic girls in the first ce?'' I wondered.


    I looked around and saw Liu sitting in the middle of the flowers field. ''Sigh¡­ Why is she so beautiful? And here I am, challenging her in a duel¡­. Maybe, I am just stupid, ain''t I? Well, better than a simp that will end up dying painfully, I guess."


    As I was thinking about these things, Zax yelled at me with her little voice. "Hey! Don''t space out, let''s move on. We need to patch up the walls."


    "Okay."


    In the end, I ended with Zax and Cristal. Timothy insisted that we shouldn''t let Liu do these kinds of work, and everyone else agreed, so I didn''t say anything. Yet¡­


    ''Aren''t you guys kind of excluding her? It''s lonely to be left alone you know¡­''


    Well, maybe I was the only one who thought that way.


    As for Cristal, she could deal with the heavy tasks so easily, to the point that I had toe up with another exnation.  "Her gift gave her superhuman strength and dexterity¡­" I explined.


    And after witnessing Cristal working, no one questioned the authenticity of my im. She was helping Zax and me renovate the rooms, and everything was proceeding quickly and smoothly. ''The three of us can manage to build a small house by ourselves only in a week at this pace¡­''


    I was really curious about Zax''s story so I used this opportunity to ask her.


    "Hey Zax, since when did you start to invent things?" I asked.


    Zax looked like she didn''t expect my question, but it seemed like she trusted me a bit and gave me an answer.


    "Mm? I don''t remember¡­" Zax said. "The where I lived was full of metals and junk parts. It was a sort of dumping ground where the Empire dumped their obsolete parts and recycled them again. People living there stole some of these parts and invented something out of them to survive. I also did that to survive until Miss Liu found me¡­"


    I couldn''t help it. After hearing Zax''s story, I reached my hand and patted her head.


    "Hey, stop that," she struggled, "And what with that face?! You are so ugly. Are you crying?!"


    "Zax¡­. Don''t worry, I will buy you every part that you want from now¡­" I said as  gentlly as possible.


    "Huh? Thanks, I guess¡­ But don''t worry about me. I managed to stay strong because of Miss Liu''s help. I will be forever indebted to her," Zax said, and a look of respect appeared on her face. "And don''t ck off! Let''s continue the work¡­"


    "Okay!"


    This petite woman was stronger than she looked. She managed to survive alone in a very harsh environment just by using her intellect.


    ''My difficulties in my past life didn''t amount much whenpared to hers¡­'' I thought.


    After that, we continued our work while taking a few minutes of a break now and then.


    Brandon brought some snacks and before I knew it, the topic of our discussion became rted to our future ns.


    "One day, I want to build myboratory and invent new things!" Zax announced while feasting on Brodon''s handmade snacks.


    For some reason, she looked like a small, cute, but wild animal. ''A wild pink hamster?''


    I grabbed Zax''s cheeks and fondled them. "I am cheering for you!"


    It seemed like we became a little bit ustomed to each other after spending time together.


    "Hmmmmmm¡­ Enough!" Zax shoved away my hands and caressed her cheeks as they turned a little bit red, then she looked at me and asked me a question. "And you, what are you going to do after this?"


    "Me? I need to finish my studies in the Empire and then¡­"  There was a lot of stuff to do, but I couldn''t discuss such a topic with Zax. "I will find a fine woman and get married," I said, half-jokingly.


    "What a boring goal¡­" Zax scoffed. "I know that you are eyeing Miss Liu but she is out of your league. Hahaha!" She added, making fun of me.


    "What are you talking about? I am not looking at her from that point of view," I retorted.


    "How many times do you think you looked at her while sighing, today?" Zax sneered.


    "It''s not like that, I just don''t know how to deal with her."


    To be honest, I was kind of interested in Liu. She was beautiful and my type. She may look cold and quiet most of the time, but from herpanions'' story, I concluded that she also had a good character. ''However, I shouldn''t let all of that influence my judgment¡­ That would be a fatal mistake.''


    After seeing my reaction, Zax looked at me withpassionate eyes. "But who knows, maybe you still have a chance, so you might regret it if you don''t try¡­"


    "Don''t look at me like that. Seriously, it''s not like that¡­ At least for now," I said.<sub> </sub>


    The pink wild hamster was trying to tease me. I knew that she was older than me but I couldn''t help but think of her as a child, so the thought of a child teasing me was very irritating. ''Should I grab her checks again, hehehehe...''


    *****


    Before I knew it, it was alreadyte in the afternoon, almost evening, and we had already finished all of the work, so it was time to begin the party.


    Brandon and the others had also finished preparing the food and drinks, and then, they set up a kind campfire outside.


    Everyone gathered around the fire and the food and drinks were put on the table so everyone could serve themselves.


    ''This is nice¡­ But why everyone is looking at me?'' I thought, then I realized what I had to do at times like that¡­ ''Should I say something? Okay, let''s do this¡­''


    "Cough, cough! I just want to thank you all for apanying me here, especially Miss Liu. I would also like to thank Miss Ma?ra for allowing us to stay here and for epting to train me. I hope that we can build a longsting friendship from today onward. Cheers!"


    p! p!


    ''How was that? Did I manage to do it well? That was cringe, wasn''t it?'' I asked myself.


    The party began and Cristal yed some music. After a few minutes, Timothy and Yelena alredy began with a drinking contest and even Ma?ra joined them.


    Feledenis was concerned about Ma?ra as if she was already his wife. ''Aren''t you progressing too fast?'' I thought, and I was partly joking, but I thought that Feldenis and Ma?ra looked good together.


    Liu who was curious about the food began to eat in silence.


    ''She likes eating, doesn''t she? Or does she just like trying new foods?'' I thought, looking at her.


    As for me, I looked around and smiled. Then I saw Brondon who did the same.


    I approached Brondon and talked to him. "Mr. Brondon, thank you for the food, it''s delicious."


    "Hahaha! I am d that you like it. You remind me of my son, and he would have been happy if he met you." Brandon said with a smile on his face.


    "You have a son Mr. Brondon?"


    A soft expression appeared on Bradon''s face. "Yes, I had a son. It was because of him that I learned to cook¡­ I wanted him to enjoy parties like this and smile while eating to his heart content."


    "Sorry, I didn''t know¡­"


    "No, it''s fine. When people enjoy my cooking, then it reminds me that my son also would be happy if he was here."


    I didn''t know if it was the effect of the alcohol or something else, but Brondon was a little bit talkative, and his story was a little bit heavy. ''He must have liked his son¡­ And I guess, also his wife. What happened to them? I wanted to know but it was not the time to ask about such a thing.''


    "Hey, Brondon¡­ Hik! Is there some more food?" Timothy approached us, and he was already half-drunk."


    "Hahaha! Look at you. Well, there are still more, let me bring them here."


    Brondon went to take the food and Cristal helped him.


    "Hik¡­ I guess you are not such a bad guy¡­" Timothy said as he smacked my back.


    "Well, I am d to hear that," I said.


    "But¡­ Hik! Don''t you dare try anything funny with Miss Liu¡­ Hik! I''ll kill you.."


    "You really respect Miss Liu, don''t you?" I wanted to take the opportunity and asked why Timothy was obsessed with Liu.


    "Of course mate... She saved me when I thought that I was nothing but trash... she was like a goddess to me¡­ Hik! But that was only the beginning, and when I began to know her better, I realized that she was like me, she was unwanted, but she stayed strong and noble... And that made me respect her more..." Timothy said.


    I guess I didn''t even had to ask. Still, that was very unexpected. ''So he wasn''tpletely stupid¡­''


    "And what about Yelena? What made her follow Miss Liu?"


    "Her? Hik! She was with her since Miss Liu was little¡­"


    So Yelena was a sort of attendant. ''That exins her overprotective nature toward Liu¡­''


    "Hey, Timothy! Here are the foods!" Zax shouted.


    "Okay¡­ Hik! I aming!"


    I looked at everyone as they enjoyed themselves. I didn''t know if I managed to change their impression of me but that was my goal. After all, there was a proverb saying: ''Tell me who is your friend, and I will tell you who are you¡­'' I wasn''t sure if that was the exact line, but thesest few hours I aimed to build a form of friendship with Liu''s crew, just for sake of gathering more information about her.


    In the end, it was not as bad as I excepted¡­ I felt that most of these guys went through a lot before meeting Liu.


    After thinking about all of that, I finally decided to approach Liu.

 Chapter 52 ...Never Last.

    Liu was taking care of  Verte like usual, looking as if she was a real mother.


    I poured some fruit juice, which had a bit of alcohol in it, inside of the cup and brought it to Liu. This beverage was prepared by Brodon and it was very tasty.


    ''A Fifteen years old person is considered an adult in this world, but I don''t think I would be able to handle too much alcohol so I will refrain from drinking it for now¡­ I don''t want to end up like Timothy¡­'' I thought to myself.


    I walked over to Liu and handed her the cup, then I started the conversation.


    "Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. Are you having fun, Miss Liu?" I said.


    "A little."


    Liu''s answer was still brief, but I noticed a change in her tone.


    ''It was a bit soft, wasn''t it?'' I wondered.


    There should have been a lot of topics to talk about but at times like this, I always fail toe up with an interesting one.


    "I am d to hear that," I replied.


    However, when I was thinking about what to say next, Miss Liu continued to talk. "I''ve never seen everyone like this before. They always put me before their own needs," she said.


    ''She just smiled a little, didn''t she?''


    I thought, and I was shocked by what she said, to say the least. ''I really can''t read this woman¡­''


    I didn''t miss this opportunity to tell Liu what I thought about her. "Miss Liu, I like that character of yours," I said. "Even if you don''t say it, you think about them. However, some people are dense and won''t understand if you don''t say it out loud¡­ Hahaha!"


    Man, that was very awkward. ''But at least and tried¡­ This is the first time I said something like that to a person in particr. Was that a goodpliment?''


    Liu''s eyes widened when she heard my words but then she regained her usualposure. "I guess¡­"


    The conversation reached a dead end again. I didn''t know if it was a good time by I decided to give the gift to Liu. "Miss Liu, I have a little gift for you¡­" I said,  handing a little box to her. "It''s nothing extravagant but it''s beautiful."


    Liu inspected the bluestone that glowed faintly and then put it back inside the little box.


    "¡­Thanks," Liu said.


    I nced at her as she looked curious about the stone, and a thought crossed my mind. ''I know that you like weird things... I mean, like to collect stuff, Liu.''


    "It''s a fragment of a crystallized Dragon heart," I exined. To be precise I retold Liu what the shopkeeper said but I didn''t mention that.


    "It''s beautiful."


    It seemed like she liked it. ''I heard that girls appreciate gifts¡­ I wonder if that if that''s the case.''


    Liu wasn''t the kind of woman who would express her feeling of joy by jumping around, so just that little word said a lot. "I am d you like it."


    I nced at Liu''s face and she looked more distant than usual. I wondered if I managed to change something.


    The party continued for a while, and Timothy began to sing out loud and then the others followed him. I didn''t know the song but I went along with the flow.


    ''When you got to know him, he is that not such a bad guy¡­'' This thought crossed my mind as I looked at Timothy who became the mood maker of the party.


    Even Yelena who looked stern usually turned into aedian. I guessed that this was due to the effect of the alcohol. ''I should be careful with this stuff, I might spill out everything unexpectedly¡­''


    It was around midnight that everyone fell asleep.


    *****


    The next day, even the Ma?ra was still having a hangover she kept her and began to train me.


    But¡­


    "What the hell is this?"


    "This is just a sword that you will practice with," Ma?ra said nonchntly.


    "What? This thing looks like something that a bodybuilder would use..." Iined.


    "A body what?  Anyway, you arecking in every aspect. From now, swing this a hundred times, to begin with. And so you know, a swordsman swings his sword every day for a purpose; It''s necessary to get familiar with the weapon that you use. Now enough talk, and get to work!"


    I think like I am starting to hate the word basic as I looked at the ominous-looking sword that looked like it weighed more than hundreds of kilos.


    In the end, I didn''tin and swung this sword a couple of hundred times every day.


    After that Ma?ra watched over me and instructed me on my footwork, stance, etc...


    Every day, she wouldn''t let me rest until I copsed. She nagged at me every time I messed up or cked off.


    I wanted to learn the technique already but she said that it could wait.<sub> </sub>


    In the end, I was back to learning the basics again. ''Basics, basics, basics... Aaaaa!''


    Learning the basics was always very tiresome no matter how many times I did it. Still, I didn''t have the choice if I wanted to grow stronger. And ording to Ma?ra, I might have the talent for this.


    But after five days, I finally asked Ma?ra. "How long are we going to continue with the basics?"


    "Mmm? Forever? I mean, you need to train every day if you want to hone your skills so you won''t get rusty, and today we all add something to your usual training."


    "... Another basic?"


    "Yes, another basic... But this time it''s rted to the technique that you want to learn."


    "Really? Finally..."


    "My master said that if you want to learn this technique then you need to awaken your seventh sense," Ma?ra announced.


    "What? That''s very cliched..." I said out loud. ''Like, for real? All of that hype and the secret was just that?''


    "You don''t look impressed but as you can see, only two people could manage to learn this technique... It''s not decided yet if you will learn it or not." Ma?ra didn''t seem bothered by my reaction.


    ''Why is she grinning?''


    "You learn fast, and in just a week you managed to learn all the basic skills¡­ From here, you just need practice. I am not a master and I have taught everything I knew so I can''t teach you some other famous sword techniques or something like that, apart from this one. And Everything will depend on you, and you alone, if you can manage to learn it by yourself or not. " Ma?ra exined.


    I felt like it was such a letdown. I expected something more grandiose, more mystical. "That again?"


    Ma?ra remarked the dejected look on my face and continued. "Yes. Do you know what my master told me after I managed to learn the basics? He said: ''There''s no secret training for this technique because the answer is already within you.'' After he said that, everyone else left because they thought he was just messing around. As for me, I had nowhere else to go and I stayed."


    I was getting very impatient. "Great, another enigma. Just tell me how did you manage to learn the technique? Please don''t say something like you practiced the basic every day for five years or something like that¡­"


    "Yeah, I did that, but I also managed to awaken my seventh sense," Ma?ra added, but it didn''t help at all.


    "But what is this seventh sense? Miss Ma?ra, you are bad at exining things¡­ Trying to sound mysterious doesn''t make you cool, you know¡­"


    I didn''t know what Ma?ra was trying to do but it looked like my remark hurt her feelings. "This kid! Hmph! If you are that impatient then I will tell you. In this world, those who possess the gift awaken their sixth sense¡­ That means that they can sense the presence of primordial particles around them and inside their body. As for the seventh sense, you have to sense your life force."


    "Lifeforce?"


    "That''s why I told you that it would be quasi-impossible for gift holders to learn this technique because their seventh sense is masked by the presence of primordial particles inside their body, and they don''t need to learn it in the first ce. I don''tpletely understand your situation but you said that your body is like a normal human''s, so you may have some hope, but as I said, this technique burns your life force. The more you use it, the more you grow weaker."


    Ma?ra''s exnation began to make more sense, but it was still foggy.


    "I know, but I am prepared. So, tell me how to awaken this seventh sense?" I asked, steeling my resolve.


    Ma?ra looked me in the eyes and began exining. "One way to awaken your seventh sense is to push your body to the limits by training, but that is not enough, because everyone would have learned this technique if that was all. The trick is really simple, but you need to have a certain quality, you need to be able to sense the neutral primordial particles around you. After that, it''s easy peasy, you just control the neutral primordial particles and boost your life force, which is the source of your body''s vitality, with the power of these particles. Unlike what people think, neutral particles aren''t useless, these are a pure form of energy."


    That was almost too easy, I think like I missed something. "Let me process a bit¡­"


    "Okay, I finished my job, and I suggest you use a blindfold while training for now. Good luck kid!"


    Ma?ra ran off somewhere after she finished exining the trick behind the technique.


    "Hey! That woman¡­ So what do you think, Cristal?"


    The trick was very simple and I thought that Cristal should have already thought about such a thing. So, I wondered if she missed that.


    "It''s simple indeed. It''s so simple that I didn''t think about it."


    "What? You seriously missed that?"


    "I don''t have this so-called life force, so in a way, it is beyond my understanding. Still, what that woman said made sense. This must be the clue that the master received from that mysterious man. And if that was the case, then it''s very concerning."


    What Cristal said made sense because she was an artificial life form. ''Well, everything seems easy when you know the trick, but it seems like I just expected too much because I read too many fantasy books. When I think about it rationally, it was not something simple at all.''


    And¡­


    "Yeah, you are right. I know that I am being paranoid but what if this man knew that I wille here and I will be the one who will perfect this technique?" I said, feeling a little bit concerned about this mysterious man.


    "Don''t get full of yourself, master. You are not that famous; no angel announced that you will be born in this world." Cristal said.


    ''Was that a joke? Did Cristal just try to make a joke?''


    Still, I was seriously considering the possibility that this had something to do with my presence here. "That was not a joke, you know."


    "I know, but you don''t need to be bothered about such a thing as of now," Cristal replied.


    Well, it was not the time to theorize about such a thing. There were only a few days left before my duel with Liu and I needed to be able to control this neutral primordial particle by then.


    "Yeah, you are right. Let''s do this."

 Chapter 53 The Beginning Of The End

    ''Nothing is happening!''


    After two days of training while being blindfolded,  I finally realized that awakening my seventh sense was more challenging than it sounded.


    ''But what is this seventh sense anyway?''


    ording to Ma?ra, this should let me feel the neutral particles in the air which are the purest form of energy in this world.


    "There''s nothing I can do about it. Even my master couldn''t exin how this seventh sense worked and that was why he had no disciples apart from who somehow managed to awaken it." She said.


    Still, her exnation was too vague and no matter how long I tried to concentrate and focused on my other senses, the only thing I could feel on my skin was the wind.


    "Master, this might simr to controlling your power but in this case, you need to control the primordial particles outside of your body  to absorb them in."


    Cristal was trying to help me but in the end, I didn''t feel anything at all.


    I didn''t even know how what kind of feeling I should feel when I came into contact with the primordial particles in the surroundings.


    In Ma?ra''s experience, she exined that at first, she felt goosebumps all over her body, and then she felt like her strength had been multiplied by ten. However, her master didn''t have this experience she said, so it depended on the individual.


    ''Something that you can''t feel but is there...'' It was as if I was trying to awaken some psychic power. ''Like these people on earth who could... Yes! That''s it! I should try that: Psychokinesis!''


    I should try to use my mental power tomand the neutral particles to enter my body.


    "Mmmmmm!"


    "What are you doing, master?"


    "Don''t bother me, I am concentrating."


    "...?"


    I was still blindfolded and I tried to gather some kind of power in my palms.


    "Mmmm..."


    I focused solely on the space between my palm. ''Erase all your thoughts! Internal peace! Feel the world around you! Ah, it''sing, it''sing...''


    An hour had passed and...


    "Nope, there''s nothing. What the hell is this? My duel with Liu is just in a few days..."


    Every time I tried to concentrate, all I could feel was my power or more importantly the primordial particles inside my body.


    <o>,m "But wait a minute... Cristal, fire users absorb fire particles to generate their power, right?"</o>


    "Yes, that is true. They have also fire primordial particles inside their body."


    "Does that mean..."


    At that time, I realized something. I took off the blindfold and looked at Cristal.


    "Cristal, you have understood this since Ma?ra exined about neutral particles, didn''t you?"


    "I-D-on''t K-Now Wh-at are Y-ou ta-lkIng aB-Out, master."


    "Cristal!!!!"


    The answer was already right in front of me from the beginning.


    If people with elemental gifts control elemental particles, then what about the people who had particr gifts?


    ''I''ve been wondering about this for a while now...''


    Of course, they would control neutral particles...


    "I just thought that you needed to use your head sometimes, master," Cristal said, seeing that I had finallye to this conclusion by myself.


    However, there was something odd about all of this.


    "Cristal, doesn''t this mean that giftless people aren''t giftless at all? They just can''t awaken their power naturally... If that''s the case then there''s someone or an organization who spread this lie about giftless people and monopolizes this knowledge. This must be the solution that the master tried to find out, but since he was a giftless person, he couldn''t manage to find the truth."


    I began to theorize about various things.


    "You like theorizing master. It''s a good start. Now, we need to find some proof. But for now, please continue your training, it''s about time you take one step forward."


    "Yeah, it seems like the information that I''ve read doesn''t say all of the truth..."


    Cristal was as expressionless as always, but it was a bit reassuring at times like this.


    "Okay, let''s do this for real."


    Man, it was so simple that I could have learned this alone inside my room.


    Yet, I came all the to another continent just to ask for information about something that was already in front of me all along.


    ''Yes, this is life... Everything is easy when you step out of the zone called ignorance.''


    This was the value of a piece of information. ''It''s kind of scary to know that we miss something like this every day unless someone enlightens us...''


    Up until this point, I always projected my power from within my body.<sub> </sub>


    In other words, every time I used my power, I used the primordial particles inside of my body rather than using external support. And I never intentionally tried to absorb particles from the outside and just waited for my reserve to recover naturally.


    In the end, I had already controlled the neutral particles inside my body every time I used my power.


    "Okay, let''s do a test..."


    I depleted almost all of the primordial particles inside of my body and I almost passed out.


    Then I finally tried to absorb neutral particles from outside.


    But...


    "Cristal... It''s not working..."


    "No, it''s working but remember that your power is not a gift but a genuine authority. In the first ce, you can still use your power even if there are no primordial particles."


    "What? I am a little bit lost... Then why do I consume all of my primordial particles when I use my power."


    "Everything makes sense now, master. You had already used the technique since the beginning but with different purposes."


    "It''s getting more confusing..."


    "It''s simple, the neutral particles keep your body from falling apart. Unlike what we thought, your body adapted to your power in a very particr way. So every time you activate your power, your body activates this kind of self-defense, in other words, it strengthens itself and multiplies your strength to be able to bear the weight of your power, and that''s why the more you use your power, the more you feel weakened."


    I listened to Cristal''s exnation and everything finally made sense. ''Since my power nullifies everything else, only neutral particles can enter my body... It seems like my power is moreplex that I thought it was. Does it nullify harmful supernatural phenomenon?''


    "Your power of nullification and this phenomenon is the only thing that keeps you alive, master. It is like a barrier that is constantly active inside of your body and when using your power, all you do is just expand it outside of your body. The one who created this power must have done this for this specific reason. And without your power of nullification, your body won''t be able to withstand your full power, even with the neutral particles strengthening it; There is a perfect bnce in this."


    Cristal exined what she found out, and I listened to her as a stupid look appeared on my face. ''What''s all this about? My power was just a tiny fragment of the original one, but is it that powerful?''


    "Master, what you have to do now is to increase the reserve of neutral primordial particles inside of your body, enough so that you can use the surplus for different purposes. After this, you should be able to break through the limit of your physical strength by using them to boost your ability."


    I was not sure how to do what Cristal just exined but it was not like everything would change if I just theorized about the oues.


    "Okay, I understand. This should be easy now, hahaha."


    After two hours I finally recoveredpletely and began to absorb more neutral particles.


    The trick was simple, I controlled my power and let it out and then tried to absorb it back.


    My power felt different from neutral particles but I tried to get used to the sensation of absorbing my power back inside of my body, and little by little I could feel something else.


    "This is it... Finally..."


    As Ma?ra said, everything was easy-peasy after that.


    When I could feel the energy from the neutral primordial particles, I just let them fill my body, and boosting my strength was like using my power when I still couldn''t control it. But this time, it was the right method.


    I gathered the particles on a single point and then let it all out. After that, I felt a surge of strength, and my physical ability increased by almost ten folds. ''I could manage to fight a level 7 gift holder in a hand-to-hand fight now...''


    In the end, sticking to the basics bore some extraordinary results. ''My body was already well trained, and I also learned the basics of how to fight with a sword, and now I can match gift holders in terms of physical strength...''


    The only problem was trying to gauge the remaining amount of neutral particles inside my body.


    I looked forward to my duel with Liu as I continued to train.


    *****


    The next day, I continued to train but only half of my usual routine, because my duel with Liu was the day after.


    ''I am kind of confident in winning now...''


    I strolled around the area and talked to the others.


    Thesest few days, I was so engrossed in my training that I rarely talked to them.


    After all, Ma?ra only let me stop once I couldn''t move my limbs anymore.


    From what I could see, everyone continued to explore the city and made many discoveries.


    Yelena and Timothy were stuck to Liu as always and continued to look for weird stuff, and Zax was building something new like usual.


    Brondon learned new recipes every day and Feldenis helped Ma?ra with her work. He was knowledgeable and the two of them got along with each other, already like husband and wife.


    It seemed like everyone enjoyed themselves. It seemed like this trip turned into a vacation for them and the only one who was suffering was me. ''Well, I am d that I could help you relieve some stress guys...''


    I strolled outside and heard some weird noises.


    ''Is that a scream? What''s going on?''


    I believed that scoundrels like those who tried to attack Ma?ra''s house target another victim again. ''Really, this city''s crime rate must be high...''


    However...


    "Huh?!! What is this chilling feeling? I looked up, and even though I couldn''t see the sky... I felt like something was looking at me from above."


    I saw Liu sitting on a stone chair on the flower field, and she was also looking up to the sky.


    I walked over to her. "Hey, Miss Liu, did you feel tha-"

 Chapter 54 Unexpected Turn Of Events (Part 3)

    :::[Third person POV]:::


    "-t, Miss..."


    Adam couldn''t finish his sentence because his eyes witnessed something extremely rming.


    A hand appeared from inside of a ck portal. Then, little by little the silhouette of what seemed to be a human emerged from it.


    The sound of unpleasant and heavy breathing reached Adam''s ears. "Fuuuu! Fuuuuuu!"


    Adam reacted as fast as he could.


    His eyes widened and he shouted something that he never thought he would say so soon. "Liuuuuuu!" He called Liu''s name in a very desperate manner, without any honorific.


    That was how dire the situation in front of him appeared to be.


    Before Adam could do anything Liu was attracted by an invisible force and then ck metallic chains wrapped around her body.


    She tried to struggle but it was of no use, the individuals who appeared behind her were not normal.


    Adam activated his sword and kicked the ground, then he projected himself forward as fast he could, but...


    Thick blocks of metal, as big as a truck, emerged from the ground and darted towards him.


    Crash!


    Even after Adam activated his power, he couldn''t dodge in mid-air, so he was sent flying and crashed into the house along with the block of metals.


    Boom!


    The two individuals were not there to y; they were there for a specific purpose.


    One of them was tall and the other one was shorter than the former but had a huge body. The two of them wore helmets and full body armor that looked like a spacesuit but with a dark cloak attached to it.


    Their appearance was more of a dark knight than an astronaut, and the ominous aura surrounding their ragged full ck outfit spoke for itself.


    The tall man grabbed Liu''s head as she tried to use her power, and as if he was doing something to her, Liu''s eyes turned white and she was about to lose consciousness.


    For some reason, her power was gathered around her head, or more precisely around the individual''s hand, and formed an unnatural sphere of ice. It was as if the ice particles were being attracted by some kind of force to this precise location.


    Liu couldn''t control her power because of what the individual was doing to her.


    She held Verte tightly in her arms and in a desperate attempt she create a thick sphere of ice around her whole body before passing out.


    It all happened too fast, without whatsoever warning.


    "Bastard!!!"


    Adam emerged from the rumbles and rose in the sky, then dashed down to the individuals.


    Swoosh!


    ? He was wearing the final form of Cristal. A full-body suit that was directly connected to his body and linked to his mind using a neuronal link.


    This was one of his trump cards and even though it was hidden under his clothes, part of the suit could be seen covering both his hand and his neck.


    Crash!


    Again, Adam''s charge was met by a thick and metallic ck wall.


    "Fuc*"


    Adam was not the kind of person who used swear words often, but this time, he couldn''t help it.


    He was still far from Liu and his power of nullification couldn''t reach the portal.


    The ck wall was too thick for his sword to cut through.


    The tall individual didn''t care about Adam.


    He raised his hand and the sphere of ice where Liu confined herself lifted from the ground and approached him, then he entered the portal from where he came from.


    "Everything else doesn''t matter." He said to the huge man.


    The huge man nodded as if understood the other one''s word.


    After the tall man left, the portal closed.


    "What are you doing, bastard?!!" Adam shouted.


    He circled the wall and appeared from behind.


    However, he was one step toote and he could only see the portal closing.


    But, the huge man was now within the range of his power.


    Adam activated his power without any dy.


    The huge man couldn''t move and before he knew what was happening, Adam''s fist struck his helmet and made its way to his face.


    He looked like he didn''t expect it.


    Crack!


    His helmet fell apart and the impact sent him flying backward before crashing into a tree root.


    Crash!


    Adam didn''t give him the time to recover.


    As soon as his punchnded sessfully and the man mmed down on the ground, he leaped forward...


    Swoosh!


    And with this momentum, he stomped on the man''s chest with all of his might using his leg.


    His suit yed an important role as it also absorbed impacts and reversed the force.


    Boom!


    With his strength multiplied, Adam packed more power than usual, and the huge man couldn''t use his power to protect himself.


    Cough! The man felt the impact on his chest and coughed a mouthful of blood.<sub> </sub>


    Using his foot to put pressure on the huge man who couldn''t move, Adam leaned forward and looked at the man''s face.


    "Tell me, where is she?!"


    Adam looked at the man and spoke to him with a threatening tone.


    However, the man whose face was ugly and full of ck tumors just smiled.


    As soon as he did, Adam felt like there was something more to all this.


    That was when he looked around him, and he realized that the city was already engulfed in chaos.


    "What just happened, where is miss Liu!?"


    Timothy who had a panicked look on his face finally appeared on the scene along with the others.


    Most of them were struck by the block of metals that hit the house, and when they came out, they saw Adam fighting someone.


    Adam looked frustrated. "Tch... It''s toote, they got her."


    "What?!" Everyone else said, almost at the same time.


    Liu was undoubtedly the strongest among all of them, so this must something serious.


    "And who is this guy?" Timothy asked.


    "He came here with the one who took Liu. He is of no use, I will dispose of him." Adam was different from his usual self, he was determined to find Liu.


    Adam activated his sword and was about to nail it down on the man''s head.


    ''Why did they target Liu in particr?'' He thought.


    "Wait, what are doing? We need to question him!!" Yelena shouted.


    "I can''t hold him back for too long, and I want to avoid more problemster."


    Thud!


    Adam didn''t stop.


    "You!!!"


    Yelena shouted but Adam turned around and looked at her with a threatening look on his face. He was angry.


    "Do you think that I take this for a joke?  He is not someone you can beat with your current level!"


    Yelena''s pride was hurt by Adam''s words. "Who are you to decide about that?!"


    "It''s not the time to argue about that, we must find Liu!" Adam answered.


    Yelena wanted to say something but Adam already moved on.


    He learned his lesson the first time, and even when he was careful, something unexpected still took ce and he wasn''t prepared as he thought he was.


    ''Sh*t! Sh*t...''


    He floated up in the air to take a better look at the situation.


    Cristal was made of Sterium and Gravitum so her ability to fly was still active even when she disintegrated into millions of nanotubes and turned into something like a suit.


    Adam''s face turned grim when he saw what was happening. ''This is bad... What''s going on?''


    The city was swallowed by a sea of me and violence while cries and screams echoed throughout the whole area.


    The residents who were gift holders shed against the monsters and even though there were strong individuals, the monsters were just too numerous.


    ''I hope they can hold up against these monsters... My priority now is to find Liu and Verte.'' Adam thought.


    "Cristal, we are going to test that theory..."


    "Yes, master."


    After that, he reported what happened to Liu and also about the situation in the city to the others.


    Adam asked them to not go to the city and prioritize Liu''s rescue. Everyone agreed and hide inside the house for the time being.


    "I have a n, and it is extremely reckless, but if we want to find Liu and bring her back, we need to take the risk," Adam announced.


    "What do you propose?" Timothy asked.


    *****


    At the same time the two individuals appeared, something extremely dreadful happened all around the continent of Nakahafa.


    "What is that?!!!"


    Everyone looked up to the sky and what they saw there send chills down to their spines.


    "Mama!!" Kids began crying.


    "Let''s go back inside!!" Adults grabbed their kids and hurried home.


    "This is the end. Hahaha." Others felt like something inside of their minds snapped and they lost sense of reality.


    All of that was because...


    "Is that an eyeball?"


    No one knew when or how, but before they knew it, a huge eyeball was staring down at them.


    And soon after this realization.


    "Monsters!"


    A horde of monsters emerged out of portals that appeared out of nowhere.


    They invaded cities and destroyed everything that they saw.


    The same thing happened inside of the city Mistolteone where Adam and the others stayed.


    However, because of trees, they couldn''t see the eyeball who was looking at something, or precisely, attracted by something.

 Chapter 55 A Bad Idea?

    Timothy grabbed Adam by his cor. "What are trying to say? Don''t joke with me!" He shouted.


    "It''s the truth. If youe with me, you may die." Adam replied and shoved away Timothy''s hand.


    Adam had just finished exining his n but it seemed like not everyone agreed with him.


    Adam''s reasoning was simple. ''If monsters could enter through a portal, then people also could go beyond those portals.''


    However, there was a problem. When elemental primordial particles travel between universes, they be unstable.


    So, if someone who was a gift holder traveled to another universe, then they might die on the spot if they were unlucky.


    However, there were some exceptions, for example, Adam who didn''t use elemental particles.


    This also meant that if they didn''t rescue Liu as fast as possible, then everything might take a dark turn.


    ''I hope it''s not toote...'' Adam hoped.


    Still, Liu''spanion didn''t agree with Adam''s theory and wanted to go with him.


    "The only one who cane is Zax who is not a gift holder," Adam said.


    Yelena red at Adam and crimson mes enveloped her body. "Are you telling me to abandon Miss Liu and leave her fate to your hand? That''s what you are trying to say, kid?!!"


    This was not the time for an argument and Adam knew that, but Liu''spanions cared deeply about her, so it was a very delicate matter.


    Nevertheless, everything would be meaningless if everyone else died even if Liu were to be rescued.


    Adam knew that and that was why he suggested they return to the ship, but the others didn''t take it that way. ''This is a pain...''


    "If you guys die, Liu would be sad, and I don''t want to feel guilty over something like that; so if you don''t want to listen to me, then I will force you."


    As soon as Adam said these words, he activated his power, and Yelena''s power vanished.


    Everyone else couldn''t move apart from Zax, Cristal, and Ma?ra.


    "Please stop this guys!!!" Zax shouted with her little and desperate-sounding voice. "You too, Adam. Everyone else is concerned about Liu as much as you are. Try to understand their feelings a little."


    Adam deactivated his power and everyone else calmed down a bit, seeing the smallest person among them all shouting in tears.


    "We should trust Adam and Zax on this." Brodon finally said something. "We all know that he has the guts and the power to do this. Self-sacrifice is only meaningful if you can achieve something by doing so, and this time, that''s not the case."


    Everyone else looked like they finally managed to think rationally after listening to Brodon''s words.


    "There''s no time to waste." Adam handed amunication device to Yelena. "Take this, and wait for us, I will bring her back no matter what it takes. Trust me!"


    Adam respected Liu as a person, and he couldn''t leave her or Verte to die in another universe.


    Yelena looked hesitant but she took themunication device. "Don''t disappoint us, kid!"


    Even at times like this, she didn''t want to be honest with her words. She hoped with all her heart that Adam would seed but she didn''t say it.


    It pained her more than anything else that she couldn''t do anything at times like that.


    "Let''s go, Zax."


    "''Kay."


    Zax wore metallic armor that she hide inside of the floating vehicles. It was equipped with mana guns, and a sma sword, and could fly in the air.


    *****


    The nearest portal was a little bit far from Ma?ra''s house, so Adam and Zax darted there at full speed.


    Monsters overflowed out from the portals like a swarm of bugs when seen from above, but Adam didn''t hesitate to dive down straight to the portal.


    Swosh!


    "Out of the way!"


    He activated his power and used his sword to cut down the monsters and his leg to kick them out of the way.


    sh! Smack!


    On the other hand, Zax fired her mana gun at the monsters.


    Piu! Piu!


    It didn''t take even three minutes for the two of them to make their way to the portal and entered it.


    The portal swallowed Adam and Zax.


    As soon as they stepped beyond the portal, the scenery that appeared in their field of vision changed dramatically.


    Countess of monsters rushed toward them, and if not for Adam''s power, they would have been crushed by the sheer numbers of these monsters.


    "Let''s move quickly!" Adam shouted.


    The two of them immediately rose to the sky.


    "What the hell is this?"


    Adam and Zax agreed on one thing after seeing the world that they traveled across. "It''s hell!"


    They were nothing but dark clouds in the sky, and as far as the eye can see, there was only a deste wastnd.


    The only things that moved around thesends, were monsters of all types.


    It was a very dangerous ce to venture into. But...


    "Let''s move quickly... Cristal, can you locate the tracker on Verte?"


    "Yes, it''s still active.".


    Cristal was in a suit form but she could move autonomously. "Okay, lead us there."


    Fortunately, Adam managed to put a tracker on verte.


    If it was not for that, then he would have lost the chance to save Liu.


    Adam and Zax moved as fast as possible to the location where Liu was.


    However, the monsters noticed their presence and attacked them.<sub> </sub>


    These were the type of monsters that could fly. For example, giant insects and wyverns.


    It was hard to fight against these monsters while flying.


    Roar!


    The wyverns began to breathe ominous dark purple fire as they followed Adam.


    A wyvern charged at him at full speed but he kicked its head with his full power and managed to avoid being preyed on.


    "Damn it! Fuc* off, damned monsters!" Adam shouted.


    Adam''s power protected him and Zax against the mes, but at this rate, he would be out of gas before he could rescue Liu.


    The wyverns were also too big and had tough ck scales, so he couldn''t neutralize their movementpletely as there were a lot of them.


    The situation didn''t look good.


    The monsters attacked the two of them from every direction.


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Some charged at them, and some attacked using fire or acid.


    And even when they fought back, it was still hard to get a critical hit.


    They were surrounded.


    Even if theynded on the ground, there was nowhere to hide because there were monsters almost everywhere.


    At this rate, it may be hard to save Liu in time.


    "Cristal, Are we still far from Liu?"


    "At this speed, we will reach our destination in 15 minutes."


    "What? Tch! "


    Adam was almost at his limit, and he needed time to recover the neutral particles inside of his body.


    In addition to that, Adam could feel that the amount of neutral primordial in the environment was very unusual. ''I almost can''t feel any...''


    It would be bad if he passed out now.


    He took this decision in the heat of the moment, so there were a lot of things that he didn''t consider.


    ''What is Liu for me? Why do I go to this extent for her?''


    Still, it might have been worse if he didn''t do anything.


    Roar!!


    The monsters'' attack didn''t slow down, on the contrary, more and more of them charged at Adam and Zax.


    Zax used almost all of her guns and cannons at the same time.


    She shot at the monsters nonstop and the weaker monsters fell down lime flies.


    Piu! Piu! Boom!


    The strong ones could avoid the shoots and the others didn''t even feel it.


    The ck wyverns that looked were the strongest and the biggest, and unfortunately for Adam and Zax, there were almost fifty of those.


    These ck wyverns were all level 7 monsters.


    Adam and Zax managed to avoid their attack or nullify them, but it intensified as the monsters increased in numbers.


    Roaaar!!


    If Adam faced one of them, then he would manage to win somehow, but fifty of them? It was a lost cause.


    Adam and Zax were engulfed in dark mes as the wyverns attacked them at the same time.


    "Zax discard your armor! And grab onto me!"


    <o>,m "What?"</o>


    "Just do it!"


    Zax didn''t understand what Adam was trying to do but she knew that Adam had a n and so she trusted him.


    "Cristal, let''s use that now! Trump card number 3."


    "Are you sure, I won''t be able to assist you anymore after that, you know."


    "Just do it! We will die here if you don''t!!!"


    After Adam said that, his glowed red. "Zax, grab on tightly!!"


    "Master, this is the final outburst!"


    Swoosh!!


    Adam and Zax were propelled forward at a very high speed.


    This was Adam''s final trump card that could let him run away from his enemy if things took a bad turn.


    However, this used almost all of Cristal''s energy, and she would go into sleep mode and recharge.


    She would manage to use her basic functions again after an hour but she wouldn''t be able to transform or float.


    They managed to outrun the monsters but it was just temporary.


    However, Adam could finally see a building that looked like it was human-made.


    It was a ck and ominous castle at the top of a cliff, it looked literally like a viin''s deen.


    Adam and Zaxnded on the ground, almost a hundred meters away from this castle.


    They had to continue on foot from there.

 Chapter 56 Another Critical Situation

    As soon as Adam and Zax left, Timothy frowned and frustration was apparent in his voice.


    "Hey, are you okay with this?" He asked, looking at everyone, especially Yelena.


    "I mean, we are not sure if there is no other way..." He added.


    Feldenis who was quiet until then looked at Timothy with concerned eyes. "Timothy, Adam''s theory was highly probable. Trying to pass through the portal while knowing the risks is just sheer madness. I understand your feelings, and we are all the same, but for now, let''s trust Adam."


    Everyone else nodded, but deep in their heart, they were not sure that Adam would seed.


    There was a doubt mixed with fear... Fear to lose someone dear.


    Timothy looked like it was hard for him to ept that he couldn''t do anything to save Liu.


    It happened so easily... Before they knew it, Liu was already gone.


    "It''s not time for regrets, Timothy, let''s focus on what needs to do," Yelena said. She finally managed to regain her usualposure. "Okay, let''s return to the ship and ask for support from the Empire. This is not a normal urrence."


    In his n, Adam instructed everyone else to return to the ship and be ready to move as soon as they receive his location.


    He exined that he would use the purple stone to open a portal as soon as he rescued Liu.


    He said that his goal was not to fight but to run away as soon he found Liu, by using his power to immobilize the kidnappers momentarily.


    Yelena and the others didn''t understand how Adam''s power worked but they already experienced its effect so they at least understood that Adam was not joking.


    "Miss Ma?ra, pleasee with us too," Feldenis said, looking at Ma?ra with a worried look on his face.


    Ma?ra looked around and a big portion of her house was in ruin.


    She couldn''t also fight the monsters alone, so she instantly came up with a decision. "I appreciate it."


    After that, everyone moved quickly and hopped inside the floating vehicle.


    They needed to leave before the monsters reached their location.


    Timothy and Brodon also prepared to fight monsters on the way so the vehicle''s rooftop was detached.


    Feldenis was the one who sat in the driver''s seat, and it was time to go.


    But...


    A portal appeared in front of them, and another person wearing ck armor and carrying a huge metallic rectangr container appeared from inside.


    Everyone reacted to this new menace almost at the same time and it showed; elemental particles surrounded their body and created some kind of visible aura, and they stood up from their seat.


    They knew that these individuals wearing ck armor are bad news.


    However, after seeing that Yelena and the others were about to attack, the person wearing ck armor raised their hands. "Wait... I am not your enemy..." The voice was almost inaudible and foggy.


    Then the armored person fell to their knees and breathed heavily, almost as if they were dying.


    "What are we going to do?!" Timothy asked.


    The person stated that they were not an enemy but no sane person would straight up believe such a statement.


    And they couldn''t waste any time discussing the true identity of this mysterious ck-armored person, because as soon as Adam rescued Liu, they needed to pick them up before the other individuals wearing ck armor took Liu again.


    And even now, they weren''t aware of the reason why Liu was kidnapped.


    "Let''s find another way and avoid him! If he pursues us, then we have no choice but to fight!" Yelena said.


    Unfortunately, things were not that easy...


    Crack! Crack!


    Crackling sounds reached everyone''s ears and...


    Boom!!


    A ck lighting strike hit the person who wore ck armor.


    The shockwave generated by that single attack knocked away the tree roots and created a huge crater on the ground, an a smoke of dust enveloped the area.


    Even the floating vehicle was blown away by the wind pressure and everyone who was inside got ejected out violently and mmed onto the ground.


    "Ku!"


    Fortunately, managed to keep the damage to the minimum thanks to their ability.


    *****


    "Did it die this time?"


    "I am not sure! Vampires are extremely hard to kill it seems..."


    Appearing out of nowhere, two mysterious people stood in front of the huge crater, waiting for the smoke to dissipate.


    "Okay, let''s retrieve the fragment and go back, quickly. Gralt and themander must have already retrieved theirs."


    "Lupic, how many times do I have to tell you to not trypeting with themander. You will die."<sub> </sub>


    "Calm down, Louis, I am not thinking about such a thing."


    Louis and Lupic also wore ragged ck armors, but the design was simr to the one that those who kidnapped Liu wore.


    "Hm?"


    "What is it?" Louis asked when he saw Lupic''s reaction.


    "What are we going to do about these?" Lupic asked, looking at Timothy and the others who stood back on their feet.


    "Is that even a question?"


    "I guess not. Hahaha."


    Louis and Lupic lost all of their interest in Yelena and the others and just walked towards the ck armored person who was lying at the center of the crater.


    The person''s armor still exuded ck smoke and it was in every state. It was even a miracle that the armor was still in one piece after such an attack.


    The person held something in the metallic container in their band.


    "The fragment must be inside," Lupic remarked.


    Then he tried to take the container but the armored person was still holding it firmly.


    "Mm? It''s not dead yet?" Louis asked.


    "This thing is really tough!"


    Then, suddenly, crimson red mist enveloped Louis and Lupic.


    "Tch, this again." Lupic frowned.


    "Let''s move out of here. I didn''t expect it to still have the strength to pull this kind of trick."


    Lupic and Louis jumped out of the area covered by the crimson color.


    Apparent irritation appeared on Loui''s face. "I''ve had enough of this. Let''s finish this once and for all."


    As soon as he finished saying these words, ck sparkles of lighting enveloped Louis''s body and then...


    ''Domain.'' One of the ultimate power that only level 9 and higher could unleash.


    Louis''s domain covered an radius of almost hundred of meters.


    He could control his power from anywhere inside of this area, and the sheer destructive output of every single attack wouldn''t decrease even if heunched thousands of attack simultaneously.


    It would only take him a second tounch hundreds of attacks with greater power than his first attack.


    That was because almost all of the neutral particles inside of the area became lighting particles.


    This mean that his power was almost multiplied by one hundred.


    The atmosphere inside of the domain became very tense, and little spheres of condensed pure ck lighting floated everywhere.


    This was the reason why level 9 and higher gift holders were on a different levelpared to this who ranked below.


    "You are going all out, aren''t you?" Lupic looked at Louis.


    "This is getting a little bit annoying," Louis frowned as he answered.


    The armored person who was helplessly lying on the ground just a few seconds ago rose to their feet, and a thick mist of crimson red color enveloped their body.


    Lupic looked at the scene with disdain. "Tch! How many times do we have to kill this thing?"


    Lupic and Louis are by no means weak orcking firepower but the individual that they were chasing was just abnormal.


    A vampire.


    Beings from another universe that defied the naturalws of nature in their universe.


    They reigned at the top of their world until monsters came.


    Their universe waspletely engulfed by corruption and even with their mighty power, they couldn''t do anything about level 10 and higher monsters.


    These monsters could consume an entire in one go.


    Everything quickly took a dark turn for their world.


    However, one day, a mysterious man appeared and revealed the existence of the Tree of Life and its fragments.


    He said that these fragments could save their world.


    However, these fragments only existed in a certain universe, known as the Original Universe.


    To find these fragments, the ancient vampires sent their mightiest warriors and entrusted them with a mission.


    The fate of their world depended on the armored vampire and the container that she carried.

 Chapter 57 A Sneaky Enemy?

    "There''s something wrong!"


    Adam stopped and inspected the surrounding.


    Zax and he walked for quite a while but the scenery didn''t change that much.


    "Yes, this is weird..." Zax agreed.


    However, that was not the problem.


    "Why do I feel like the castle is getting farther and farther away?" Adam wondered out loud, and then he realized something. "Zax! This is not normal, there must be something about this. There''s a monster or an enemy around."


    "Yes, I think so too, but where are they?"


    Zax was right, there were too many huge boulders and piles of rocks in the surrounding, and even the ground itself was extremely uneven.


    Adam came up with a theory. "This must be some kind of illusion or something that mess up with our sense of direction."


    Then he activated his power and the castle who seemed so away felt like it was zoomed in and got bigger.


    Realizing what was happening, Adam warned and dragged Zax close to him."Zax! Come close to me!"


    Then he took a battle stance and focused on the sound around them.


    But it was extremely quiet, and it gave him a very bad feeling.


    Zax and Adam moved forward as quickly as possible but with great caution to avoid monsters'' ambush.


    So if this was the work of an enemy, then it was extremely sneaky, and if Adam waste to realize what was happening, then it would have been bad.


    "Where is it?" Adam turned his head left and right. "I don''t see anything suspicious, and that''s not something that happens naturally in this world."


    Crack!


    Adam turned toward the source of this sound but there was nothing.


    Until...


    "Adam, on the left!!" Zax shouted.


    The first sound was a feint and suddenly a goblin rushed toward Zax and Adam from the opposite direction.


    Adam reacted quickly and put all of his strength in his right arm and punched the goblin.


    Swoosh!


    However, his fist just past through the goblin''s body.


    It was another illusion.


    Adam was preserving his strength but after seeing the goblin, he activated his powers.


    As soon as he did, he realized that dozens of little green monsters already surrounded them.


    "What the hell?!"


    They didn''t hear anything and they didn''t see anything


    His power covered a radius of 15 meters when used at full strength, but it seemed like the enemy''s power covered arger area.


    As soon as he saw the goblins Adam activated his sma sword and shed the first goblin that rushed toward him.


    sh!


    "Kweek!"


    The goblin groaned and died, but Adam''s triggered its peers.


    "Graaaah!"


    Adam continued to cut down the goblins and protected Zax from direct attacks.


    Zax was more or less powerless but she still had two mana guns in her hands.


    Adam carried a bag where he put the purple stone, but it seemed like Zax also carried her artillery.


    Piu! Piu!


    However, this was a very bad situation.


    Until then, they managed to avoid this kind of situation by choosing the best route and avoiding needless fights with monsters.


    But if this continued, then other stronger and more dangerous monsters would take notice of their presence again.


    "Tch! This is bad! Let''s run for now!"


    "But run where? The monsters had already multiplied in numbers and we didn''t even when they have appeared."


    At times like this, Adam felt the usefulness of his partner Cristal.


    This kind of power was the worst match-up against his nullification, and the enemy was clearly a sneaky one.


    *****


    When Zax and Adam were being subjected to the attacks of an unknown enemy, the situation on the other side of the portal was not better.


    Timothy and the others were witnessing two incredibly powerful beings that were about to collide.


    One of them was Louis and the other one was the ck-armored person who carried a huge container.<sub> </sub>


    Louis floated in the air and lighting sparkled all around his body and his hair rose unnaturally.


    As for the other person, they were enveloped in a thick crimson red substance.


    The person seemed to be on the verge of death a while ago but it seemed like they recovered rapidly, even after being hit by Louis''s destructive attack.


    "Calm down, Timothy! These people are not normal!" Yelena shouted and grabbed Timothy''s arm.


    Timothy recognized the pattern on Louis and Lupic''s armor. It was simr to Gralt''s, the one that Adam killed.


    Yelena instantly gauged the difference in power which was obvious.


    Even if Timothy and everyone else attacked these two people at the same time, their chance of winning was slim.


    "Tch! So, do you want me to just ignore them like that after what they did to Miss Liu?" Timothy rebuked.


    "I didn''t say that, but our priority is to get to the ship. I have already asked the crew members to call for reinforcement, but that would take some... And normal reinforcement wouldn''t change anything!" Yelena shouted, literally.


    This was something that she didn''t often, but it felt like after meeting Adam she was yelling all the time.


    The others didn''t say anything but they listened to Yelena and Timothy''s conversation.


    Brandon looked at every movement of the ck-armored and Maira and Feledenis''s gaze was fixated on the thick crimson red mist.


    "Feldenis, is the vehicle still operational?"


    "I think it can still manage!"


    Yelena looked at Timothy. "Let''s go, while we still have the chance!"


    Timothy clicked his tongue and hopped inside the vehicle.


    However, when everyone got inside the car, something strange happened.


    ''Please, take this with you!''


    Everyone''s eyes widened.


    "What was that?" Timothy reacted first. "Someone just talked inside my head."


    "Yeah, I heard that too," Yelena said.


    "A female voice, right?" Feldenis asked for confirmation.


    When everyone was still doubting their sense, the voice said something again.


    ''I will hold them here, but please take this with you. I don''t feel corruption from you, so I will trust you for now. Lots of life are at stake, so don''t let these people take it.''


    This time the voice talked for a while.


    And as soon it finished talking...


    Boom!


    There was another huge explosion.


    It seemed like Louis didn''t want to talk any longer.


    However, this time, Brondon used his power to protect the vehicle against the shock wave.


    He was an earth elemental gift user that could manipte metal.


    He made three thick blocks of metal appear from the ground.


    "Feldenis! Let''s go!!" Yelena yelled.


    This was not the time to discuss with a mysterious woman concerning something that they didn''t even know.


    Vroooom!


    The vehicle dashed forward at full speed, avoiding the debris of rocks falling almost everywhere.


    Even the huge trees shook violently and looked like they were about to go down.


    The shockwave created by the the lighting attacks was more devastating than everyone expected.


    Timothy was the one who was the most affected by this. His pride couldn''t allow him to feel inferior to this man, but the reality said it all.


    When everyone was focused on the road, and dopamine filled their brain, a ck container fell from the sky, as it was carried by a thick crimson red wind.


    Itnded at Timothy''s location. "What the hell is this?"


    "Tch! This must be what that voice talked about. What a to push another problem on us?" Yelenained.


    "Should I throw it away?" Timothy asked.


    And unexpectedly, it was another person who answered. "No, let''s keep it. I feel like this has something to do with Miss Liu''s mission." Brondon said.


    "Okay, if you say so, I just hope this won''t bring us more troubleter," Timothy said, putting the container aside.


    It was too big, but it could fit inside the car somehow when everyone ced it on theirp.


    Vroooom!


    The car elerated at full speed, and the engine made a sound that could only be described as strained.


    Louis and the mysterious woman continued to fight against each other, and it was not some run-of-mill fight even in this world where gifts existed.

 Chapter 58 Vampire

    Crack!


    Monsters'' bones broke apart.


    Ssh!


    Their interiors gushed out of their stomach.


    "Grah!"


    But their numbers kept increasing.


    Adam was covered with filthy substance as he crushed and sliced the monsters.


    Zax and he ran away from the monsters, but it was of no use.


    It didn''t even take a few minutes for other monsters to notice the ruckus.


    Wolves, giant insects, giant anacondas, and lesser minotaurs began to appear from out of nowhere.


    Adam couldn''t activate his power endlessly, so all they could do was run forward.


    Of course, Zax wouldn''t be able to follow Adam''s pace so he transferred his nano suit to her.


    Zax already realized the true form of Cristal so she didn''tin and didn''t ask any questions.


    "This suit is incredible!" She acknowledged Cristal''s performance.


    "Of course it is!"


    However, it didn''t take them long to understand that the situation was not getting any better.


    To be precise, there would be no end to these monsters as long as they were in this world.


    Adam felt that he had already used too much power, but unfortunately, the monsters kept getting stronger, and the fact that an enemy used their sense against them didn''t make things easier.


    Whether they stayed on the ground or flew in the sky, monsters would appear from everywhere.


    It was only thanks to his newly acquired ability that Adam managed to survive this long.


    His fighting style was simple, he neutralized the monsters that got closer to him and then cut them down or crushed them with his fists or legs.


    He also activated his full power on a regr interval to find the best way to follow.


    Still, their pace slowed down and they almost fell from the top of cliffs many times.


    "This would never end unless we eliminate the bastard who keeps messing with us!"


    This was an obvious answer, but there were too many factors to be taken into consideration.


    If Adam and Zax focused on finding the enemy, how long that would take?


    Could they save Liu in time if they stopped moving forward?


    And more importantly, how could they find the enemy in the first ce.


    "Tch, it would take an hour for Cristal to recover! And even after that, it would be just 15%!" Adam cursed his powerlessness in front of this kind of situation.


    A question appeared inside of his head. ''Is Liu worth all this trouble?''


    No matter how many times he thought about a reasonable reason, he couldn''t find any.


    Was it because Liu was his friend?


    No, they weren''t that close.


    Was it because Adam had a good heart and a chivalrous attitude?


    No, he only cared about himself most of the time.


    So why? Before he could even think straight, why he had already decided that he would save Liu?


    Was it because he didn''t want to lose her?  No one knew.


    If the old him was there at that moment, would he go to this extent for a girl that was not even his girlfriend?


    The answer to these questions would show if Adam changed or not.


    ''There''s nothing if there''s no beginning.''


    However, Adam knew that Liu saved many people from falling into despair. So, wouldn''t she deserve to be saved too?


    Nevertheless, it was not the time for second thoughts.


    "Adam!"


    "What?!"


    In the middle of all of this turmoil, Zax called out Adam''s name.


    "Does Cristal have any ability that could get us out of this mess?!!"


    The monsters'' groans and roars were too long, so they had to yell at each other while talking and running at the same time.


    "Yeah!!! But this is not the time to talk about that!!!"


    Adam''s physical abilities were enhanced by the pure energy of neutral particles, so he could run almost 50 kilometers per hour.


    He also needed to crush the monsters in front of him while Zax covered his back with the mana guns.


    It was hard to talk to each other under such conditions.


    "So, what kind of energy does Cristal need?!!!"


    "I don''t know!!! This situation never urred before so I didn''t ask!!!"


    "I have an idea worth trying!!!"


    "Okay!!!"


    "I brought spare tubes full of condensed vibratum energy for my armor, and I have them here!!!"


    Zax took two tubes that emitted an azure blue light.


    "Why didn''t you say that earlier?!"


    "Because I didn''t know how Cristal worked!"


    "Just try it now!!! I will hold the monsters!"


    Zax took held the tubes in her little hands but she didn''t know how to deal with them.


    However, as soon as the tubes came in contact with Cristal, something happened.


    [Energy source detected. Extraction process initiated.]


    The suit swallowed the two tunes and absorbed their energy.


    [System Activation. Sess.]


    "Did it work?!" Adam asked.


    ? "Yes, I can hear Cristal''s voice!" Zax replied.


    "Hey, Cristal, can you scan the area? There should be another human apart from us around," Adam instructed.


    "Yes, master."<sub> </sub>


    This was one of Cristal''s most useful abilities. She was equipped with different types of sensors that could perceive details that the human sense missed.


    Moreover, this sensor wasn''t affected by illusion or external disturbance.


    There might be some hope to save Liu in time.


    *****


    Simr to Adam''s situation, the situation on the other side of the portal was also chaotic.


    Monsters roamed all around the city of Mistolteos and their numbers kept increasing.


    It would take some time to close all of these portals, even for Adam.


    Furthermore, the monsters also appeared in the nearby cities.


    Reinforcements from the Capital were already on their way but it was still hard toe up with an effective counter-attack, and the situation was still tricky.


    And in the middle of all of that, two powerful beings were trying to tear each other apart.


    "Die!"


    Louis yelled and punched out.


    Lightning particles in the surrounding gathered into a single point, turning a ball of energy which was projected at the vampire woman.


    Drizzzzz!


    However, Louis''s attack didn''t end there, but it was followed by a chain reaction.


    All of the balls of lighting in the surrounding rushed at the vampire woman at full speed.


    Swiss! Swiss!


    These balls of lighting were like countless shooting stars targeting a single point.


    All of that happened at a very high speed.


    Moreover, one of these balls of lightning had enough condensed power to destroy a small vige.


    This was the power of a level 9 gift holder.


    Louis didn''t know that people in this world called their power gifts, but his power was certainly simr to a gift.


    It was clear that he didn''t care about the city.


    If all of that condensed energy got unleashed at the same time, then part of the city of Mistolteos would be erased from the map.


    However, the vampire woman also unleashed her power.


    The thick crimson red mist around her turned into a huge tornado.


    Fwoooosh!


    This was how the Vampire woman managed to run from Louis and Lupic many times.


    Louis''s attack collided against the red tornado.


    Boom!


    This collision was followed by a huge outburst of energy.


    It should have destroyed everything, but for some reason, the explosion was contained.


    The red crimson mist absorbed it.


    Still, the entirety of the outburst was not fully nullified.


    It was a good call from Yelena and the others to take the vehicle and run away.


    The ground was deformed, the tree''s bodies were shattered and they almost fell.


    Thunderous noises filled the area and lighting sparks destroyed everything that came in contact with them.


    "Tch!" Louis clicked his tongue after seeing that his attack failed to kill his target.


    "Oy, Oy, you almost killed me!" Lupic appeared out of nowhere below Louis.


    Louis ignored him and focused on the vampire woman.


    After the smokes dissipated, a silhouette appeared in mid-air.


    Her armor finally broke apart, revealing her true form.


    A tall woman with pointy ears, bloody red eyes, and long ck hair.


    Her skin was pale, almost lifeless.


    She wore a very particr ck dress that was covered with a chest te and chain mail.


    How she managed to fit that dress inside her armor was a mystery, but it looked like it was an extension of the armor.


    "Fiuuu! Would you look at that?" Lupic whistled as he looked at the Vampire woman.


    "Demons also have a beautiful face," Louismented.


    The vampire woman floated in the air, and the thick red crimson mist turned into two pairs of wings on her back.


    Her appearance was noble and majestic, to say the least.


    Still, Louis and Lupic wouldn''t stop just because she was a gorgeous woman.


    "Hmm? Louis, where is the container that she had with her?" Lupic remarked. "Hm? Did it get blown away?"


    "If she was such a stupid woman, we would have managed to retrieve it long ago."


    "Yeah, you are right... But it seems like she finally became senile."


    "Do you have the same thought as me?" Louis asked.


    "Yeah, the bugs also disappeared. I''ll go crush some bugs and finish our mission."


    After saying these words, Lupic disappeared mysteriously.


    For some reason, the vampire woman was on the defensive, or more precisely, she was stacking time.


    And even though Louis and Lupic were having a conversation in front of her, she didn''t attack.


    Until she saw that Lupic disappeared.


    She rose to the sky and darted to the direction where Yelena and the others went.


    "I won''t let you!" Louis shouted.


    The woman realized that she might have taken a very bad decision.


    She thought that Louis and Lupic wouldn''t take notice of Yelena and the others even if they disappeared from the scenery, so she could retrieve the containerter.


    Louis had already appeared in front of her.


    Inside his domain, only teleportation ability could match Louis''s speed.


    It was as if he used teleportation himself.


    "This is the end, damned creature!"

 Chapter 59 Companion

    Vrooom!


    The vehicle sprinted at 150 kilometers per hour.


    Even though the forest was dark, slowing down was not an option.


    However, Timothy looked like something bothered him. "Did you see that? These people just came out of a freaking portal, so why are they fine?!"


    He was suspecting that Adam''s theory might have been wrong.


    The wind pressure was too strong since the car had no rooftop, so only Brondon heard what he said.


    "There are exceptions he said! I think that those armors are not for decorations!" Brondon replied.


    But Timothy wasn''t even half convinced. He was constantly bothered by the feeling that he might have abandoned Liu.


    Still, they didn''t know about the existence of Corruption: A twisted form of primordial particles that corrupt living beings.


    This particle can cross every universe and corrupt the primordial particles that came in contact with it.


    It was the root of all despair and misery, as well as the destruction of multiple universes.


    And when Timothy and Brondon were talking about the nature of Lupic and Louis...


    "You have something interesting here!"


    ...Lupic appeared behind them, squatting on top of the vehicle.


    "Wha?"


    Timothy reacted quickly but when he looked back there was no one there.


    "I am taking this!"


    Lupic was already standing on top of the container that was on top of Yelena, Brondon, and Timothy''sp.


    Feldenis and Ma?ra were in the firstpartment of the vehicle.


    Out of reflex, after sensing the danger, Timothy and Yelenaunched an attack simultaneously.


    Drizzz!


    Fwoosh!


    However, they didn''t hit anything and instead,  it was their power that collided, causing an explosion.


    Boom!


    This caused Feledenis to lose control of the vehicle and it crashed on the tree''s root.


    Crash!


    Fortunately, Brondon managed to protect everyone using his power to cushion the impact by creating a wall of sand.


    "Pouf!" Timothy spat out the sands in his mouth.


    "What just happened?" Feldenis asked.


    "On your guard!!" Yelena shouted and jumped off the car.


    Herpanion instantly understood her instruction.


    Brondon held the container and everyone formed a circle.


    Yelena created fireballs to illuminate the surrounding because the darkness of the forest didn''t help at all.


    "He is still around! Open your eyes wide." Yelena said.


    However, before anyone could react...


    "Mmm, too bad for you. You should have just fled without this!"


    Lupic''s voice came from behind Brondon.


    "Kuh!"


    Lupic had stabbed Brondon with a dagger and crimson red liquid overflowed out of his side.


    "Brondon!"


    Before they realized what was happening, Lupic was already gone.


    They didn''t know about the nature of Lupic''s power, but after this, they had a rough idea.


    Teleportation.


    Brondon fell to his knees. He was a tough man, but his face became pale.


    He managed to hold the container, but his wound was critical.


    "We need to stop the bleeding!" Feldenis shouted. "Ma?ra, help me!"


    Feldenis was more or less prepared for a case like this but it didn''t change the fact that Brodon was out of the fight.


    Ma?ra and Feldenis tried to apply the first basic treatment.


    However, Lupic was not so kind as to wait for them to save their friend.


    Yelena bit her lip and urged Timothy. "Timothy, use your power to create a barrier around us!"


    "I know that! However, can a barrier stop that guy? He must be a teleporter." Timothy answered.


    He put up a barrier made by condensed lighting energy.


    After hearing Timothy''s remark Yelena frowned. "If he is a teleporter then this going to be difficult."


    Timothy and Yelena knew about the existence of a particr gift known as teleportation.


    Even among particr gifts, some were extremely particr.


    Most of these extremely particr gifts were rted to time and space. There were also those rted to the mind.


    For example, a form of space maniption was Teleportation.


    This was not a good situation for Yelena and Timothy who had yet to awaken their domain.


    Yelena was already a level 8 and Timothy a level 7, but among them, only Liu could create her domain.


    Yelena aimed to prevent Lupic from teleporting near them.<sub> </sub>


    She activated her power and crimson red mes enveloped her body.


    Then, the energy generated by the fire particles was condensed into a fire armor that looked like a Valkyrie''s.


    With this power, Yelena became a walking volcano.


    And even though she couldn''t create a perfect domain yet, her power could affect the immediate surrounding.


    This meant that she could unleash her power even if it didn''te out directly from her body.


    As for Timothy, he did the same as Yelena but like every level 7 gift holder, his control was stillcking.


    After seeing Yelena and Timothy unleash their power, Lupic appeared out of nowhere again and made a very sarcasticment. "Ouuuu! Scary, scary."


    "Bastard!! I will kill you!!" Timothy shouted.


    It seemed like he finally lost it for good. "First, Liu, and now Brodon? I will kill you!" Timothy added.


    Lupic wasn''t bothered by Timothy''s words at all. "Mmm, that''s a very interesting ideaing from a bug. Okay, show me what you''ve got. I hope youst for 5 minutes because I need to go after that."


    Lupic''sment suggested that he was just a cat who yed with some mice.


    He didn''t take Timothy and Yelena seriously because he was confident that he could beat them any time.


    "F*cking sh*t!!!" Timothy yelled. Anger was apparent on his face, knowing that Lupic was mocking them.


    "Enough talk!!" Yelena said, and dozen of spears of fire appeared behind her.


    Swoosh!


    The spears of fire darted towards Lupic.


    However, not even a single one managed to graze him.


    Yelena''s attack just caused explosions all over the area without inflicting damage to Lupic.


    It was not because Yelena''s control was bad, Lupic was just too unpredictable and he could move from one ce to another instantly.


    "Die!!" Timothy shouted.


    While Lupic was distracted by Yelena''s attack, Timothy prepared his card.


    It was a chain of lightning kind of attack.


    It connected multiple condensed spheres of lighting and formed an area where the energy generated by the lighting was contained.


    This was an attack aimed to trap Lupic, so wouldn''t be able to avoid it, unless he teleported far from the area.


    Drizz! Boom!


    *****


    Brondom was about to lose his consciousness.


    He felt like his body was getting heavier and he felt cold.


    Pieces of memory from a time when he was not yet with Liu and the others resurged in his mind.


    "Hey, Dad, do you think that the foods in these pictures exist? How do they taste?"


    A fifteen years old boy who had silver hair, pointy ears, dark skin, and a skinny body covered with ragged clothes looked up to Brodon. He was rather small for his age.


    This boy wore a particr-looking cor on his neck, his wrists, and his ankles.


    "Yes, they do. One day, we will eat them together. Hahaha."  Brandon replied and stroked the boy''s head.


    "Really? I can''t wait. It''s a promise, right?" The boy replied, with a bright smile on his face.


    This smile made Brondon hesitate a bit before continuing. "Yeah, we will not stay like this forever."


    It was not an exaggeration to say that Brondon was a ve.


    Their hometown was destroyed due to some political conflict involving Lords who wanted to expand their territory and their influence.


    This was not something rare in this world, but the Empire didn''t include such a thing in the history books.


    The winner write the story, and no one wanted to be seen as a viin.


    Brondon promised his son that they would eat real food together after they were freed.


    But that day never came...


    His son died of malnutrition.


    Brondon lost all hope after that. He was freed after years of envement, but living was just too painful for him.


    He wanted to kill himself...


    Brondon and his peers were freed because it seemed like a new Lord was appointed to manage their.


    Then, this Lord sent an envoy to assess the situation on the, and this envoy was Liu.


    Liu met Brondon who was about to jump from a cliff and handed him a few dumplings without saying anything.


    After that, she walked away.


    Brondon was puzzled by Liu''s action, but after he took a bite from the dumpling, tears dropped from his eyes.


    It was the taste that he always described to his son.


    He only felt this taste once in his life when someone from a very far away came to his hometown.


    Brondon didn''t know it but the people who were enved with him told Liu about his bravery and what he did to give them courage during these dark times.


    Brodon kneeled in front of Liu and offered all of his gratitude.


    After that, he offered toe with Liu and serve her even if he only carried her luggage.


    But Liu said. "It''s your choice. You are free."


    Brondon cried two times for the first time in his life.


    The situation wasn''t even that grandiose or extremely dramatic.


    Liu just treated him and his son with respect, and that was enough for someone who lived inside of a stone room for many years.


    ''Can I see Miss Liu again?'' Brodon thought as Feldenis tried to stop his bleeding.

 Chapter 60 Another Nameless Hero

    "Master, I can sense another presence that ispletely different from a monster," Cristal reported.


    Finally! Adam was a little bit relieved that they could move forward. "This must be the guy! Let''s deal with him quickly!"


    Adam''s power was unavoidable as long as the target is within his range, and as long as the target didn''t possess an ability stronger than his.


    "Cristal, lead the way, don''t let him escape!" Adam instructed.


    After Adam said these words, Zax dashed forward and Adam followed her.


    The only reason why they didn''t lose sight of each other until that point was because Adam used his power at regr intervals.


    Still, they had already wasted precious time.


    ''I hope we are not toote. Please hang in there, Miss Liu.'' Zax prayed.


    With Cristal leading the way, Adam and Zax managed to move at a quicker pace.


    They dived through stone walls and huge boulders and jumped from the top of cliffs, but it turned out that all of these were illusions.


    These were just tricks established by the enemy to prevent them from moving forward.


    However, the enemy seemed to fear Adam''s ability and never revealed themself.


    They were patient and observed Adam and Zax from the shadow, waiting for them to exhaust their strength by leading them toward stronger monsters.


    This was certainly one of the most dangerous ability users that Adam ever faced.


    Fortunately, Adam improved in a lot of ways and managed to survive even without Cristal, his biggest trump card.


    Still, he was also lucky, because if someone else apart from Zax came with him, then they wouldn''t have thought to use the gravitum tubes.


    ''I am d that this pink wild hamster came with me.'' Adam thought to himself.


    However, when they got closer to the enemy''s location, someone spoke.


    "Hahaha, I am out of here. I didn''t expect someone to be able to break through my illusion." A voice said.


    The enemy''s domain was rted to the maniption of reflection.


    He could create a kind of huge mirror room that didn''t only reflect images but also sounds.


    "I bet themander will find this interesting." He added.


    The enemy finally appeared in front of Adam. He also wore ragged ck armor.


    It was just for a few minutes and when Adam was about to leap forward and finish him, he broke a ck stone with his hand and then entered a portal.


    "Tch! Did he run away?" Adam asked, and it was more of a rhetorical question than a real one.


    "It seems so," Cristal answered anyway.


    This type of enemy was the most annoying of all.


    They messed with their target and then run away when things turned bad.


    However, from a neutral point of view, this was a smart move. They got to analyze their target''s weakness and develop another tactic.


    After the enemy left, everything returned to normal, but the changes were not that apparent.


    "Bastard!" Adam cursed. "Let''s go, we can''t waste any more time."


    Zax looked like she was also frustrated."I agree."


    They wasted precious time because of an enemy who just ran away without a fight when they were about to finish him.


    It left a sour taste in their mouth and an unsatisfied feeling in their chest.


    Adam and Zax thought the same thing. ''I want to punch that guy in the face.''


    *****


    Boom!


    Crash!


    "Just die already, you damned vampire!" Louis shouted.


    The showdown between Louis and the vampire woman continued without a proper oue in sight.


    Outbursts of power filled the entire area and small to extremely big explosions urred almost every second.


    At first, Louis attacked the vampire woman with a simultaneous attack without giving her respite.


    Louis''s destructive lightning bolts targeted her from every possible direction. "I will turn you into a pile of ash so that you wouldn''t be able to use your undead ability again!"


    Louis''s destructive power was on a different level.


    Maira''s house turned into ash, and only a huge crater was left on the ground.


    A few of the giant trees fell and destroyed a part of the city of Mistolteos.


    Crash!


    As the trees fell, there was an earthquake and shockwaves that left everything within the vicinity of hundreds of meters of the impact in a sorry state.


    Fortunately, some of the trees didn''t fall on the groundpletely and the other trees absorbed the impact.


    Otherwise, Mistolteos city would be no more.


    Even in with his current ability, Adam would have a hard time fighting against Louis.


    In front of this menace, the vampire woman also unleashed her power.


    She was indeed a vampire.


    A mythological creature depicted as creatures of the night, blood-sucking monsters, higher-level undead.


    In many universes, like the one where Adam came from, these creatures were just legends.


    However, they existed.


    And each one of them was more powerful than any creature below level 9.


    There was one aspect that made vampires extremely powerful. It was their blood.<sub> </sub>


    Vampire''s blood inherited some of the aspects of the primordial authority, thus it could disintegrate almost anything.


    Some ancient vampires could even disintegrate space itself.


    This was the reason why they didn''t die but just weakened when they traveled between universes.


    Their blood disintegrated the unstable primordial particles inside their body.


    Consequently, even though Louis''s attack was very destructive, the vampire woman''s blood disintegrated the condensed energy before it could hit her.


    Louis clicked his tongue. "Tch! Why did she get so powerful all of sudden?"


    He didn''t know that vampires recuperate quickly when the neutral primordial particles in the environment were abundant.


    This forest was a very primitive ce, so the odds were against Louis.


    Unexpectedly, the woman finally spoke to Louis. "Why do you seek to obtain these fragments?"


    Louis was a little bit taken aback by this sudden question.


    "Hmmph! That doesn''t matter." He retorted.


    Louis was brought back to the gate of death to make his Lord''s wishe true.


    They would take back everything they lost at any cost.


    *****


    <o>,m Louis was not about to start a conversation with the vampire woman.</o>


    His Lord and hispanions already knew that there was no turning back.


    The faint memory of the past that they began to forget as time passed was the only thing that kept their tiny bit of sanity.


    A world where people smiled.


    A world where beautiful sceneries existed.


    A beautiful world where love, family, and a home waited.


    A world that was now long lost...


    But who was to me for that tragedy?


    Monsters?


    However, did these monsters even know what they were doing?


    Would the fact of killing these monsters bring these smiles?


    In front of the answer to these questions, another hero, the savior of his world, fell to despair.


    After all, who needed a hero when the people who needed a hero were long gone.


    Chaos engulfed the whole universe and corruption reigned.


    The hero was another victim of a cruel fate reserved for the strong.


    He couldn''t die even if he wanted to.


    All of hispanions had already perished.


    And when he hit the bottom, someone reached out to him...


    What choice did he have?


    *****


    Pant!


    Pant!


    Heavy breathing echoed inside a spacious room.


    The room was made of dark marbles and dark stones.


    The atmosphere was gloomy and unweing.


    And at one end of the room, there was a throne made of ck crystal and a man sat on it, looking down at the person in front of him.


    He was the being that Louis and the others called Lord.


    The person he was looking at wore an azure blue outfit and had a baby in her arms. It was none other than Liu.


    She bled all over her body and her azure blue dress was tainted with crimson red color.


    This was because the chain that was wrapped around her body peeled some of her skin when she broke free.


    "You are brave, little woman. I will give you the choice. I may look like this, but I am notpletely heartless."


    An overbearing deep voice filled the room, and the speaker addressed Liu.


    After Liu was abducted by themander, she was brought inside this room.


    The Lord didn''t care about Liu unlike what everyone thought. His interest was focused solely on Verte.


    But Liu didn''t hand Verte over without a fight.


    As soon as she recovered her consciousness she activated her domain.


    The room became an ice cave and Liu could manipte the ice inside of the room from anywhere.


    However, Liu couldn''t even make the Lord stand from his seat.


    She exhausted all of her strength but nothing happened and the room returned to its normal state.


    "Leave that thing here, and I will open a portal for you to return where you came from. With a little bit of chance, you may not witness the end of the world in this lifetime." The Lord added.


    Then he mmed on his throne two times, and a subordinate appeared.


    He instructed him to open a portal.


    "Hand it over to him, and go. Don''t waste your life while you still have one."

 Chapter 61 For Those Who Are Alone

    A family.


    A ce where someone should feel safe.


    A ce where someone should feel loved.


    That was how it should have been¡­


    "Jacob, you are truly my son, unlike your failure of a brother."


    A young boy looked at his father praising his brother, words that his father deemed too valuable for a failure like him.


    His father was an influential man, involved in politics and the power struggle.


    So what did his father need? It was none other than the perfect tool to make his ambitionse true and continue his legacy.


    In other words, a son.


    When the boy was born, his father was extremely delighted.


    Time passed by, days, years, and finally, the boy grew older.


    He became an ignorant child who looked up to his father.


    But¡­


    "Why can''t you do it? It''s extremely simple! All you have to do is to smile and nod your head!"


    The boy failed to meet his father''s expectations for the first time.


    It was because he questioned his father''s order for the first time.


    Smiling when he didn''t want to was extremely tiring.


    Learning things thing he was not interested in was extremely strenuous.


    He was not interested in politics or power, he just wanted to draw.


    However, such a thing went against his father''s expectations for him.


    "You are a failure."


    After he spat these words, his father never once spoke to him and he rarely got to see him.


    He was cast aside like trash.


    The young boy asked himself. ''What did I do wrong?''


    He couldn''t understand what was happening. The people who used to talk to him with smiles on their faces became cold.


    No one listened to him when he asked questions. He was at home, in the middle of hundreds of servants, but he was alone.


    Even his sisters treated him like a bother, fearing that their father would give up on them too.


    And the situation worsened after his brother was born.


    Finally, his father got on his hand the perfect tool.


    From that day onward, his parents seemed to have forgotten his existence.


    The name Timothy didn''te out of his father''s mouth, even once, as he grew up into an adult.


    Timothy lost himself in alcohol, women, and gambling.


    Staying at home was just too painful for him, and he wanted to escape.


    And even when he was gone, no one came searching for him.


    His father didn''t even bother reducing his monthly expenses, because he forgot to do it.


    "F*ck it all!"


    Timothy cursed when he saw the people who came for his brother''sing of age ceremony.


    ''Is there that much difference between us?''


    Timothy felt a void in his heart that he could never fill. Women were just there for his money, alcohol was just there for a short moment of peace, but there was nothing that seemed real.


    Timothy didn''t know anything about the outside world, so how his own family treated him made him into a helpless person.


    As a result, he became violent, he didn''t care about his behavior and adopted a rebellious attitude. He did everything that his father disliked.


    However, his father didn''t even look at him.


    "F*ck! F*ck!"


    The smile on the face of these thousands of people who appeared to be happy for his brother made him want to puke.


    ''What''s even good about all of that fake smiles? I can''t understand.''


    That was when he saw a girl, who was different from everyone else.


    It was obvious that she didn''t have a fake on her face, or to be exact, she didn''t smile at all.


    For some reason, Timothy felt like this girl was different.


    But no matter how hard he tried to talk to her, the girl didn''t put on a fake smile, even once, and when he tried to flirt with her, she showed a disgusted expression. The was no hint of hypocrisy in her attitude, it was her real feeling.


    But Timothy smiled and felt something he never felt before.


    It was love at first sight, something that he never experienced.


    For the first time in his life, Timothy met someone different, even though she was also part of the system that he hated so much.


    It was nothing grandiose, but Timothy decided that this was a sign.


    Liu''s face appeared in his mind again and again, and he couldn''t forget her.


    He couldn''t sleep at night, and so he thought. "What''s holding me back here? Nothing!"


    From there, Timothy discarded his title, his family, and everything that held him back, and he chased after Liu.


    It was a very stupid choice, it was nothing but foolishness, but Timothy was smiling.<sub> </sub>


    He finally understood that he didn''t live for his father''s sake.


    He just needed a strong determination to cast away everything that held him back and decide for himself.


    Of course, Liu didn''t ept Timothy''s feelings, and instead, he became aplete stalker that followed her everywhere.


    He always managed to find a way or another to appear in front of Liu during her missions.


    Sometimes he was covered with bruises, wore weird clothing, and ride some weird beast, but he was always there¡­


    Timothy didn''t only meet new people by doing this, but he also learned a lot about the world.


    But as expected, Yelena didn''t appreciate his behavior and the two of them shed often.


    However, it was just pure obsession toward Liu, and he became a more helpless person but just in a different way.


    And that was when Yelena identally revealed a certain information during their usual quarrel, and from that day onward Timothy learned about Liu''s situation¡­


    He couldn''t believe it¡­


    She was stronger than he would ever be.


    At that moment, Timothy felt like he didn''t deserve Liu''s attention. She already had too much to deal with, and she shouldn''t waste time with someone like him.


    She was dealing with a problem simr to his, but she didn''t give up, unlike him who took the first opportunity to run away¡­


    Timothy gave up chasing after Liu and was about to fall into despair again.


    He was drinking alone inside a pub when Liu appeared in front of him.


    "You forgot this," Liu said.


    "How did you?" Timothy was almost speechless.


    Liu handed him a worn-out paintbrush that he forgot at home.


    "Your father said that you are free to do what you want, so what would you do?"


    "He said that? I-"


    He could never believe that his father would say such a word unless Liu did something. But why? He was nothing but trash.


    Even Yelena scorned Liu''s action. "Miss Liu, why did you go to such an extent for a mere stalker."


    However, Liu smiled a little bit, as if she remembered a distant memory. "Everyone deserves a second chance."


    Liu was not a fool, and she knew about Timothy''s identity since the first time he appeared in front of her, and she also did a background investigation on him.


    That was when he discovered Timothy''s situation and the reason why he might have been so obsessed with her.


    She didn''t immediately reproach his actions, even though they were bad, but instead, she gave him another chance to prove his worth.


    Liu was far from perfect, she was almost a broken person herself, but for Timothy, she was like a goddess.


    From that day, Timothy vowed to be Liu''s sword.


    *****


    "Die!" Timothy shouted. Timothy couldn''t let the chance to kill Liu''s kidnapper slip away.


    Lupic was enclosed inside of a lighting field that could turn him into a piece of charcoal.


    Even though Timothy was a level 7 gift holder, he was not weaker than Yelena when it came to fighting ability.


    Drizzzz!


    A dazzling light was followed by an explosion and the explosion caused shockwaves that sent dust flying.


    "Take that, you sh*thead!"


    "Be on your guard!" Yelena shouted. "I don''t believe that he will die that easily!"


    "Mmm." A voice resonated from somewhere inside the cloud of dust. "That was a close one. I didn''t think that these bugs would be this powerful. It seems like I must take this a little bit seriously." Lupic said, but his voice was yful.


    "Bastard!" Timothy was about tounch another attack.


    However, something unexpected happened.


    "Is he not a teleporter? Then why are there five of him?" Timothy asked as he looked at the scene in front of him.


    Lupic didn''t only vanish and reappear, but now he could also clone himself.


    This was another power of someone who could create their domain.


    "Tch! Let''s attack together! We should not give him the time to pull another trick." Yelena instructed.


    "Roger!"


    Timothy and Yelena attacked non-stop using fireballs and lightning bolts.


    However¡­.


    "What the hell? Why are there so many of him?" Timothy questioned his sanity.


    "I don''t know!" Yelena replied, and was also puzzled by what was happening.


    Even though Lupic didn''te close to the barrier that Yelena and Timothy created, he managed to give them hard time.


    Moreover, Timothy and Yelena were mistaken about the nature of Lupic''s power.


    He was not a teleporter. His ability granted him the ability to enter the mirror dimension where space and all timelines merged into one, so he could cut himself off from time and space.


    It felt like he was teleporting, but what he did was skip the time he needed to move from one ce to another.


    However, when he used his domain, he could link with all of the versions of him that enter this mirror dimension...


    This was a very difficult thing to do because all of the other versions of himself were no different from the original, and unless they agreed toe to this timeline of their own volition, it wouldn''t work.


    As long as time was not against him, Lupic was more or less immortal even if hecked firepower.

 Chapter 62 A Time Traveler?

    "What the hell is wrong with this guy!?"


    It didn''t take a while for Timothy and Yelena to finally understand what was happening.


    Maybe it was because of the dark environment, but the scene in front of them was more horrifying than it already was.


    At first, Yelena and Timothy believed that it was Lupic''s power that made him formidable, and they weren''tpletely wrong, but that was not all.


    "This bastard is mad!" Even timothy was forced to admit that Lupic was not your typical thug.


    Lupic died, and another Lupic died, and another one died, but fifty other Luipics appeared.


    Those who died had their body turned into charcoal, their interiors bursting out of their body, and their brain electrocuted and melted.


    But Lupic was still advancing toward Yelena and Timothy without a sign of fear in his eyes.


    It turned into psychological warfare.


    Bodies began to fill the area and they were in an extremely sorry state.


    But Lupic wasn''t even fazed after seeing the other versions of him dying. "What are you waiting for? Show me what you''ve got."


    Yelena and Timothy understood what Lupic wanted to do, and even though they didn''t know about the true nature of his power, they sensed that Lupic was more or less a psychopath.


    "Tch! I will finish this in one attack!" Yelena announced to Timothy.


    Timothy nodded his head at Yelena''s words. "Yeah, as long as we take of the original there shouldn''t be any more clones. What kind of power is this anyway?"


    Yelena and Timothy couldn''t make hasty moves, because Feldenis was still treating Brondon.


    If something happened, then Brodon would lose his life for real, and Liu''spanions didn''t want that.


    ''Should I just give him the container?'' Yelena thought.


    It was not their business in the first ce, so there was no reason for them to lose apanion while trying to protect a container given by an unknown person.


    However, there was the fact that these people were the ones who kidnapped Liu, so what if this container contained something that could potentially save her life, or could be used as a bargaining chip.


    There were too many uncertainties in all of this and there was no time to think carefully about the little details.


    Yelena didn''t want to get distracted by these details for the time being and concentrated on her next attack.


    "Aaaaaa!" She shouted as if she was trying to show that she was gathering her power.


    Among the four of them, It was Yelena who dealt the most damage, not including Liu, and Timothy was the fastest.


    It was exhausting to keep a barrier active for a long time, so Timothy was exhausting his strength very quickly.


    Still, if Lupic was a teleporter, Timothy and Yelena wouldn''t be able to stop him from teleporting inside the barrier.


    But even though Lupic was notpletely a teleporter, his power was not something ordinary.


    Every time he entered the mirror dimension, his future self would appear in the real world. It was as if he skipped unnecessary processes and instantly move to the results. He was a kind of time traveler, or more precisely, a time skipper.


    But in reality, all he did was find his way inside of the mirror dimension, like choosing a door.


    And all of his clones are a probable version of himself that could exist but didn''t; and the act of forcefully bringing in the real world was something extremely dangerous with their approval or not.


    The mirror world was a very strange ce, but it was a ce closer to reality than everything else; the incident involving Judgement proved that.


    The ability to enter this world was a feat that only a person who had already awakened their authority could achieve because the person could potentially possess an omnipresent power.


    But Lupic''s power was far from omnipresence, it was not even an authority, it was just a lesser version and all he could do was enter the mirror room and skip a few seconds in the real world and then appear directly in a near future.


    He could only appear at a distance that he could reach during these sixty seconds. But it still looked like he teleported, and it was a very dangerous power.


    Even Lupic himself didn''t know how to exin his power, and something prevented him to project himself more than 1 minute in the future or the past. He felt like his body would explode if he did that.


    But he could avoid being killed by cloning himself, so in a way, he was immortal.


    Still, Lupked firepower, unlike Louis and his power was more suited for tracking and information gathering.


    Not all overpowered power were suitable for battle, but Lupic didn''t care about that.


    "Go to hell!"


    Yelena''s power condensed into a huge fireball that looked like a small sun. The surrounding brightened and the heat was unbearable, mostly for the clone of Lupic who had the fireball on top of their head.


    Yelena''s fireballnded in the middle of Lupic''s hundreds or so clones and then erupted like a volcano.


    Boom!


    The ground melted into magma and the trees'' roots burned down into crisps.


    There was a strong smell of burnt flesh in the air as Lupic''s clone turned into ashes.<sub> </sub>


    This explosion was followed by another explosion and an earthquake, but this time, it was not caused by Yelena or Timothy. It was caused by Louis and the vampire''s battle.


    *****


    A few kilometers from Yelena and the others, the battle between Louis and the vampire woman was about to reach its climax.


    Louis was now clearly at a disadvantage despite him leading the game a few moments ago.


    Pant! Pant! "Damn creature!" Louis cursed, feeling that he was running out of strength.


    The vampire woman was just right in front of him, holding a sword made of condescending red crimson blood, and red wings on her back, but he couldn''t finish her.


    At some point, their battle turned into a close-up fight.


    Louis judged that showering the vampire one-sidedly with lighting attacks would just waste his strength.


    Louis condensed his power into a sword-like shape and the woman did the same.


    Louis used the attractive force generated by his power to move around at a very high speed, but even his speed and destructive power couldn''t manage to deal a fatal blow to the vampire woman.


    Their swords of energy shed countless times, but both of them didn''t let the other one overwhelm them and didn''t let any room for sneak attacks.


    It was a very intense battle where power and speed were the key factors.


    Unfortunately for Louis, it was not his lucky day.


    If the battle happened anywhere else than inside this forest, he might have won.


    The vampire woman kept getting stronger and stronger.


    "Why the hell did you be strong all of sudden? You were running away with tails between your legs just a while ago." Louis was finally open to a discussion. He felt like this vampire woman led him into a trap


    Louis didn''t know everything about vampires'' power, so it was understandable that he was confused by what was happening.


    He had the upper hand all of this time, so he didn''t think that the odds would turn against him.


    "¡­" The woman didn''t even flinch. She showed dignity in her behavior. "I was lucky enough that the fragment lead me to this ce." She answered.


    For some reason, the number of primordial particles in this universe was particrly dense, especially in this forest, unlike the other ones that were already full of corruption,


    The vampire woman had a hard time recovering from Louis''s attack because of that, but now that she was exposed to this kind of environment, it was just a matter of time.


    The particr traits of her blood were just too overpowered, even in this universe. It disintegrated matters at an atomic level.


    "Woman, tell me your name. It has been a long time since I met someone who could drive me to a corner like this." Louis said.


    He might have a kind of scheme going on, or maybe it was his true feelings, but the vampire woman looked like she was a little bit taken aback.


    Well, it didn''t matter to her, since she would have to kill him either way.


    "nca."


    Louis''s expression didn''t change and he just nodded. "Louis."


    That was all, and the fight was about to continue.


    *****


    On the other side of the portal, Adam and Zax were about to reach the dark castle.


    They didn''t know about Liu''s situation, so they couldn''t waste any time. They took the shortest route with Cristal''s navigation and avoided fighting monsters as much as possible.


    However, things were never easy when the fragments of the Tree of Life were involved, and Adam would harshly learn this fact.


    It didn''t even take them a while to notice that some people were standing in their way.


    One of them was the one who ran away earlier, and the other one was themander.


    There were hordes of vicious monsters of all kinds behind these two people, waiting for a single order.


    p "This is gonna be tough," Adam mumbled.</anda>


    "Yeah, this is bad." Zax agreed with Adam.


    These monsters were different from the regr goblins and wolves, they were at the same level as the ck wyverns.


    But the was only Adam, Zax, and Cristal¡­


    They had to pass through this if they wanted to save Liu.


    But, was that even possible?

 Chapter 63 No Pain...

    Boom!


    Crack!


    Drizz!


    There was no end to it.


    Yelena attacked, burned, and overwhelmed her opponent with sheer power, but there was no end to it. The awful taste of ash ran through her mouth and she could feel her body getting heavy.


    At some point, the clones of Lupic were notpletely humans anymore. Different variants appeared, and they were not as easy to deal with as the others.


    Moreover, there was no effective way to find the original. But fortunately, only the original could use the time skip power.


    "This is bad! Yelena, I will hold this guy here, you guys need to run!" Timothy shouted.


    Normally, these words were not something that Timothy would say under normal circumstances, but the situation took a more horrifying turn.


    It was as if they were fighting a horde of endless zombies that didn''t fear pain and advanced to their death. Furthermore, these clones were intelligent and could dodge attacksunched at them.


    It was only thanks to Yelena''s power, which melted the clones that approached her, that they could hold their ground against Lupic and his clones.


    "What are you saying? This is not the time for such stupidity. We are going to get through this together." Yelena answered Timothy.


    Unfortunately, such a thought seemed to be more and more unrealistic when they looked at the three variants in front of them.


    The first one was a three meters tall human with skin made of Sterium. The second one looked like a werewolf and had extreme agility and the third one was an old man wearing a ck coat and controlled darkness.


    These three variants werepletely different from the other clones and were as strong as Yelena and Timothy, and soon as they appeared, the tide of battle changed and they were now backed into a corner.


    Lupic was not aplete fool and he only brought other versions of him that he could manage. However, he was still ying a very dangerous game by messing with the mirror dimension, but he had long forgotten about what the emotion called fear means.


    At first sight, it appeared like Louis was the most dangerous of the two, but it was the opposite. If Lupic continued to mess with the mirror dimension, then he could destroy the world.


    But as long as he could help his Lord achieve his goal, he didn''t care about such a thing.


    He had already cried all of his tears, and from the dead, he was brought back. There was no salvation for him even in death, so as long as he could take back everything he lost, he wouldn''t hesitate, and his determination showed in his action.


    Even Yelena and Timothy felt Lupic''s madness and were beginning to feel overwhelmed.


    "Aaaaa!"


    The three meters metal clone rushed forward while taking all of Yelena and Timothy''s attack.


    His body was very tough and even Yelena''s power, which reached almost 2000 degrees Celsius when used at full power, couldn''t melt his skin and he just turned into a walking volcano. The heat slowed him down, but he was not dead.


    And while Yelena was focused on the metallic clone, the werewolf clone jumped around in the trees while avoiding Timothy''s attack. This clone had the superhuman strength of a level 8 gift holder and had a dynamic and nocturnal vision.


    And that was not all, the old man began to absorb the elemental particles in the surroundings and so the area where Yelena and Timothy could exert their power was reduced.


    "Yelena! Just go! I can hold them for a few minutes if I use all of my trump cards." Timothy said to Yelena, seeing that things weren''t about to get better.


    Timothy was not a coward, and that was one of his redeeming qualities. He had already left Liu''s fate to another person, so he couldn''t let hispanion die under his watch.


    He wouldn''t bear to see the only people that he considered as his family die.


    At least, his life would be meaningful if they survived due to his sacrifice. He always tried to be a better person, but never managed to changepletely.


    He was aware more than anyone else that he was a pain for those who were around him, but these people epted him for who he was, and Timothy would never want to let them down.


    "Tch! Don''t make me repeat myself, I will never allow such a stupid self-sacrifice!" Yelena was frustrated, she felt powerless.


    Yelena was with Liu since she was a child, so she knew that Liu would never sacrifice herpanion for her own sake, no matter how much pain she had to endure as a consequence.


    But Yelena failed to protect Liu, and even the fact that Liu became stronger than her in terms of strength made her feel a little bit powerless because she was the one who should protect Liu and not the other way around.


    Now, Liu was kidnapped and she couldn''t do anything about it. Then, would she also sacrifice Timothy to survive? She wouldn''t do that.


    The metallic clone approached and the other clones were not affected by the heat anymore. Yelena was losing more and more strength, and it was apparent.<sub> </sub>


    The scenery had already changed into a hellish one since Yelena''s first attack. There were leftover carbonized bodies everywhere, and the sight and the smell were intoxicating.


    If it wasn''t for Brodon who was still in a critical condition, they would have the time to run while fighting. And in the first ce, if it wasn''t for that container, they would be not in this situation.


    "Aaaaa!"


    The metallic clone finally managed to reach Yelena and charged at her.


    "Yelena!" Timothy shouted.


    Yelena blocked the metallic clone in her arms but it was more powerful than she expected.


    Thud!


    Timothy wanted to do something, but he couldn''t leave Feldenis and the others without protection, even for a second. The werewolf clone would tear them apart.


    Yelena was propelled backward but she managed to stand back. However, during this little time gap, the clones already managed to charge at Timothy''s barrier.


    "Kuh!" Timothy felt the pressure as he directed all of his remaining strength toward the barrier. "Aaaaaaa! F*ck you all!" He roared and an outburst of energy sent the clones that were close to the barrier flying.


    Yelena immediately tried tounch other attacks on the clones, but the metallic clone leaped in the air and tried to crush her under his feet.


    Crash!


    Yelena managed to avoid the attack but she realized that she couldn''t properly control her power.


    And when she turned around, she saw the old man surrounded by a dark miasma standing behind her.


    "Shit!" Yelena spat out because a fist was heading toward her and she couldn''t avoid itpletely.


    Crack!


    Yelena blocked the metallic clone''s blow with her arm but she could hear her bones shattering, and the impact made it to her head.


    "Guah!" Yelena coughed a mouthful of blood. She mmed to the ground and rolled back a few times before crashing on a tree root.


    "Yelena!!!"


    This was the worst oue, and if there everyone would certainly die if something wasn''t done.


    But what? Timothy couldn''t think about anything that could help them face the current situation.


    Drizzzz!


    The werewolf clone tried to pass through Timothy''s barrier forcefully and he was halfway through.


    "Tch, why am I so powerless, if only I was strong enough to create my domain." Timothy cursed his powerlessness, but it was toote for regrets.


    He looked at Feldenis and the others and he saw that Feldenis was focusing all of his attention on saving Brondon''s life. He didn''t let himself be disturbed by everything around him and solely focused on what he was doing. It was a very professional attitude, and Ma?ra was helping him.


    However, anxiousness could be seen on Ma?ra''s face, unlike Feldenis. It was because she was giftless and didn''tpletely trust Yelena and Timothy. The thought of running away to save her own life appeared inside of her mind, but seeing Feldenis, she couldn''t bring herself to decide.


    "Tch!" Timothy couldn''t let Feldenis and Brondon down, but he was not powerful enough.


    Even Yelena who was stronger than him was now struggling. She couldn''t avoid the punch of the metallic clone and she didn''t have enough energy to create another fire armor.


    The punches hit her directly and she could hear bones breaking apart.


    It was a brutal scene to witness.


    Timothy''s anger reached its peak, but he couldn''t move carelessly as the werewolf clone was already halfway inside of his barrier.


    He could take on the werewolf clone, but he couldn''t protect Feldenis and the others at the same time if he put down the barrier. Feldenis was just a level 4 gift holder, and he was not a seasoned fighter, unlike Yelena and Timothy.


    "What the hell am I supposed to do?!!"

 Chapter 64 Sacrifice

    "Miss Ma?ra, toss that container to me!" Timothy shouted.


    Timothy didn''t have much of a choice and so he decided to take another alternative.


    "I will destroy whatever is inside that container. It should contain something important, or even some kind of mass destruction weapon." He added.


    Ma?ra was puzzled by Timothy''s words, but she decided to bring the container to Timothy. She was shaken by how the situation worsened very fast, but she also had epted her fate.


    Was it the best choice to stay even though she knew that death wasing? It was not time for regrets, but she wished to live a little bit longer.


    Ma?ra ignored the existence of the fragments of the Tree of life, and so did Timothy and the others; even Liu wasn''t informed about the exact nature of these fragments.


    However, Timothy thought that if things were this bad, might as well destroy whatever was inside of the container rather than let the enemy winpletely.


    After all, Yelena and Brondon were half-dead and three variants of Lupic were trying to take the container by force.


    No matter how much he tried to deny it, this was the end of the line for them. The end came abruptly, and none of them could think rationally to prevent it.


    It was almost unreal and felt like they were inside of a bad dream.


    Fear crept inside of their heart little by little.


    ''Is this the end?'' Timothy asked himself.


    Nevertheless, if he destroyed the container, something might happen, or so he thought, nothing more than ast desperate attempt to escape the unchanging reality.


    "Hahaha! F*ck you!" Timothy shouted and finally put down the barrier.


    Of course, as soon as he did that, the werewolf clone charged at him, and so did the other clones.


    He gathered all of his remaining power in his fist and hit the ck container. It was nothing more than a reckless gamble.


    Seeing Timothy''s desperate attempt, Lupic who was hiding somewhere finally appeared andughed. "This is the end for you. That thing can''t be destroyed."


    If the fragments of the Tree of life could be destroyed that easily then everything would have ended a long time ago.


    Lupic smiled as though he had already won this battle.


    However, as soon as Timothy''s fist which was imbued with condensed lighting energy impacted the container, something extremely mystical urred.


    Boom!


    There was an outburst of power but everyone who was within the proximity moved in slow motion.


    Even Lupic couldn''t avoid the effect of this strange phenomenon.


    "Es-tu celui qui m''a reveill¨¦?"


    A voice was carried by a strange power and was directly transmitted to Timothy''s brain.


    However, the person who spoke used a very oldnguage, so it was hard for him to understand.


    Nheless, seeing what was happening around him made Timothy realize that all hope was not gone.


    And as if confirming his thought, something glowed a radiant green light and a human body materialized in front of his eyes. This process was very mysterious, and even though everything else moved in slow motion, only this scene wasn''t affected.


    ''What the hell is that?'' Timothy thought to himself as if he questioned his sanity.


    His eyes were glued on the woman that materialized in front of him and he realized that the thing that was inside of that container might be more significant than he thought.


    As the woman took form, Timothy who was facing her gasped. "Verte?!"


    The woman who appeared out of thin air looked like an adult version of Verte, but Timothy instantly understood that this being was someone that could bring everyone present to their knees.


    Still, he was desperate and so he swallowed his pride and implored this woman. ''Please help us, I beg you!''


    That was pathetic of Timothy, but he thought about Yelena, Brondon, and the others, so he couldn''t be arrogant. He epted that he was powerless against Lupic and his clones.


    Nevertheless, would this help Timothy and hispanions? For what reason would she do that, even by chance she decided to help them?


    These questions appeared in Timothy''s head but he couldn''t possibly answer them. Timothy''s heart was filled with regret but he hadn''t lost all hope.


    The woman approached Timothy and touched his face with her hands.


    Timothy didn''t know what was happening but he was suddenly assaulted by unbearable pain, but he couldn''t even hear his scream.


    Then, he was enveloped in a golden light and as if it exploded, an uncontroble outburst of energy surged out of his body. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"


    After that, everyone else lost their consciousness, and a phenomenon that would change the world urred, and no one was ready for it.


    Only Adam would discover the truth behind what happened on that day, but at that time, it would be already toote.


    *****<sub> </sub>


    A few minutes before Timothy exposed what was inside the container, Louis and nca''s battle reached its climax.


    Boom!


    They exchanged blows and the shockwave caused by their sh shook the earth and caused huge explosions.


    At first, Louis was on the offensive.


    He attacked bnce with ten swords made with condensed lighting energy simultaneously, trying to find a blind spot and finish nca off with one single attack.


    He wanted to prate nca''s body with one of his lighting swords and make her explode from the inside.


    However, nca''s defense was too tough to breakthrough. She also used her blood to create multiple red spears and fended off Louis''s attacks.


    "Tch!" Louis was getting impatient and activated his domain again, even though he had already depleted a big portion of his strength.


    He tried to trick nca but onlyunched sessive frontal attacks.


    "You won''t be able to defend against this forever!" He shouted.


    And in the middle of the battle, he prepared a single attack from behind, which would be his fastest and most destructive.


    All he needed to do was to make sure that nca''s attention was focused on his frontal attacks, and so she would forget about her back for a split second.


    Then, Louis darted towards nca at full speed, as if he used all of his power in this attack. "Aaaaaaa! I will finish you with this!"


    Seeing Louising at her, nca merged her spears into one sword.


    ''I got you.'' Louis thought to himself.


    Louis and nca shed head-on once again, but this time, Louis also attacked from behind.


    Louis''s goal was to fire his ultimate form of condensed energy at Bianca, but he needed to make sure that it only exploded once it prated her body or precisely head. He thought nca''s blood wouldn''t be able to fully absorb the energy when it came from within her.


    Thud!


    There was an impact, and nca could feel something prating her head.


    Louis used a very small projectile but imbued inside of it a dense quantity of energy.


    If this attack failed, then it was the end for him.


    But he was sure that Lupic had already retrieved the container so he wasn''t worried about the mission.


    ''Well, this kind of ending isn''t so bad.'' Louis admitted.


    After that, Louis''s attack exploded inside nca''s head, or that was how it looked.


    nca was affected by Louis''s attack, but it didn''t kill her. It was as if she suspected Louis''s intention when he suddenly changed his attack patterns.


    When he saw that nca was not dead, Louis understood that this was the end of the line for him, and he took a decision. "I didn''t expect you to be this powerful. I admit I can''t beat you."


    Then, he was enveloped in lightning energy and ran away at full speed.


    ''It''s not time to die, yet.'' He thought. He was not a battle maniac and was notpletely brainless. As long as they recovered the container, there was no need for him to fight nca any longer. And even if nca followed him to the other side of the portal, she would never beat his Lord, even if she was a quasi-immortal being.


    Bianca saw Louis fleeing but she didn''t follow him, but instead, she rushed in the direction where Lupic went.


    She realized her mistake, but it was toote for regrets. She didn''t expect that she would recover her strength quickly or that she would beat Louis.


    nca wasn''t aware of the true nature of the fragments not about Lupic''s true power, but her choice impacted Adam, Liu, theirpanions, and eventually the world without her knowing it.


    She was on her way to this universe with her sister Noira to find another fragment when they got separated. Then she was chased by Louis and Lupic.


    ''I can''t fail now.'' She thought while rushing ahead at full speed.


    Many vampires were sacrificed to condense the tinum blood which could open a portal to another dimension.


    And it was not like they could find the fragments easily. nca and her fellows had to travel across a lot of worlds, and in the end, they separated into small groups.


    The only clue they had was that the tinum blood would react when they got closer to the fragment. However, it almost took a few hundreds of years to find one fragment, but they needed three.


    As time went by, nca and her sister Noira lost track of time and lost their way through the multiverse, unable to find their way back. There was also not enough tinum blood so they couldn''t move carelessly.


    Unfortunately, they didn''t know that their world was already gone, and almost a few millennia had passed since they left.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    (Traduction: Es-tu celui qui m''a reveill¨¦?=> Are you the one who woke me up?)

 Chapter 65 Keep Moving Forward!

    "Zax, remember that we are not here to fight. We gotta find Liu quickly and run!" Adam said.


    "I know that," Zax replied briefly, but she was not sure of anything.


    The situation could be only described as dire, and that was true even if the fact that Zax was giftless and Adam''s power wasn''t limitless were ignored.


    Adam was not stupid to not understand that Zax needed Cristal more than he did. Her previous armor was strong but it couldn''t even bepared to Cristal.


    "Cristal, distract the illusionist with Zax, and I will take care of the other guy. Our goal is to pass through them as fast as possible." Adam added.


    It sounded so easy when he said it like that but the monsters alone were already frightening enough, to the point that if a normal person were in Zax''s shoes, they would have passed out from fear.


    And that was not all, the two gift holders in front of them could be anything than weak. Adam was certainly lucky to have Cristal and his almost unstoppable power, but there was no telling when he would run out of luck.


    These two armored people stood on top of what looked like a gate, if someone could identify the structure like that, because the whole castle and the area around it already looked like it was in ruin for thousands of years.


    "Dastre, did you run away from these kids?" The one who was calledmander asked the person next to him as he looked at Adam and Zax.


    "Don''t let their appearance fool you. My sense told me that they are more dangerous than they appear to be." Dastre answered, he sounded like he tried to defend himself. "As I exined, the boy possesses a strange power¡­ It might even be the same kind as the lord''s." He added.


    "¡­" Themander didn''t say anything and looked like he thought about something. "Mm. He seems ratherposed in front of this situation. Did hee all the way to save his lover? I can''t say I dislike his courage, but he and his friends are just out of luck."


    "You are right, after all, even without us, the Lord is invincible., Dastremented.


    "Well, there''s no telling if he has guts or just stupid, because, even heroes run out of luck." Themander said as he looked at Adam and Zax rushing toward the castle.


    Then, themander reached his hand and said. "Go!" And as he did, the monsters rushed at Zax and Adam.


    "Cristal, can you initiatebat mode with your current state?!"


    "Yes, I can, but it wouldn''t help much," Cristal replied.


    Cristal was equipped with powerful weapons by normal human standards, but when it came to high-level monsters and gift holders, it couldn''t even deliver a lethal blow.


    Adam had already activated his power and the monsters were immobilized, but the other ones kept pushing forward. "That should be enough to distract the illusionist!" Adam shouted as he crushed the monsters that approached him.


    Zax darted towards Dastre while avoiding the flying monsters. Cristal initiated thebat mode, and she turned into full body armor, covering Zax''s body from head to toes.


    Zax''s hands turned into mana guns and three automated battle drones appeared from her back.


    ''Nanotechnology is sure convenient.'' Zax thought. She knew that she had be a burden to Adam rather than a help, so as long as she could fight, she would give it her all.


    The only person that Zax loved was her mother and Liu who reached out to her when she had nowhere else to go. So, as long as she could contribute to saving Liu, even a little bit, even if she couldn''t do that much with her little hand, she wouldn''t hesitate.


    Piu! Piu!


    Zax shot at the flying monsters that rushed towards her from every direction. There were big insects and even lesser wyverns.


    "Leave those in the back to me," Cristal said to Zax.


    "''Kay, let''s do this!" Zax replied, trying to ignite her courage.


    The suit and Cristal''s high-levelputation helped Zax to target the monsters'' weak points with more uracy.


    Numerous patterns appeared inside of the suit''s helmet, and Zax was intelligent enough to understand their meaning.


    Cristal made real-time simtions to find the best trajectory to avoid the monsters'' attacks and exploit their blind spots.


    <o>,m Adam followed Zax and rushed forward while shing the monsters that appeared in front of him and using them as stepping stones to advance.</o>


    He was smiling, not because he took pleasure in killing these monsters, but because he was already way past his limits.


    He felt his legs getting heavy and his movements slowing down. He had abused his newly acquired skill, but there was no time to take a bit of break.


    "Graaa!"


    The monsters wouldn''t wait for him to take a few minutes to catch his breath.


    Consequently, Adam didn''t focus on attacking and avoided monster attacks while conserving energy.


    The monsters were enraged and uncoordinated and Adam merely had to find the right timing to immobilize and then release them, resulting in them attacking and crushing their peers.<sub> </sub>


    "Graaa!"


    "Out of the way, damned beasts!"


    Cristal and Zax had to deal with the flying monsters as they moved forward, and Adam had to deal with the ones on the ground.


    Adam was more used to fighting monsters after killing almost hundreds of them. His power was the biggest card in his hand, but he had started to not only rely on his power and Cristal all the time.


    This situation pushed him to his limit and he had to take risks and make choices by himself, then deal with the consequences.


    Still, he was alone against a horde of monsters and he needed more than just determination.


    He had be more fearless and more ruthless, but he wasn''t even aware of it.


    His body adapted to the energy generated by the neutral primordial particles more quickly than anyone else, and his strength had almost increased hundreds of times, but it was not enough.


    Adam''s time was numbered, and even if he pushed his body beyond its limit, no one knew what would happen. He might just die.


    But Adam forgot about all of that, and only focused on how to deal with the enemy in front of him.


    Adam moved swiftly forward, avoiding the monsters'' attack, immobilizing them, jumping on their head and crushing them if he could, then took advantage of their height to dash forward again without wasting timending on the ground.


    Swoosh!


    Then hended on another monster and crushed its head with his sword while immobilizing the monsters that leaped toward him, releasing them, and jumped again and let the monsters crush each other.


    He did this other and other again, and it was an extremely awful situation to be in.


    The monsters reeked of an awful and suffocating smell, and their interiors were extremely disgusting.


    When Adam shed their head and cut their carcass, their brain melted and covered his body.


    Adam needed more than just a strong power to go through all of that.


    "Sh*t!" Adam spat out. Sometimes the sma wasn''t strong enough and couldn''t cut through some monsters'' skin.


    However, Adam couldn''t stop moving even for a second, otherwise, the other monsters would push the immobilized monsters forward, and even if they were paralyzed, he would still get crushed.


    Adam put all of his strength into his speed and could avoid a monster attack as long as he saw theming.


    This required a lot of concentration and there was no room for mistakes.


    The smile on his face didn''t vanish and he felt adrenaline rushing to his head.


    Finally, he managed to get closer to the armored person standing on top of the huge stone gate.


    Cristal and Zax also managed to avoid the flying monsters and had already reached the gate.


    "You seem to have some interesting power. This must be the reason why I lost contact with Gralt." Themander said as Adam leaped in the air and tried to approach him.


    "Wha-?" Adam gasped. His usual n was to get closer to the enemy as fast as possible, neutralize their power, and dealt with them without giving them the chance to pull out another trick.


    However, for some reason, he was stuck in midair and was unable to move.


    He felt invisible forces pulling his body from different directions.


    "You seem to be too confident in your power." Themander said as he looked at Adam. After he said that, Adam was pulled violently by a mysterious and crashed to the ground.


    Crash!


    Themander''s power was something that Adam never expected. Adam could neutralize the effect of elemental powers, but what about something different.


    "Adam!" Zax shouted.


    "I knew that you will be able to deal with him,mander," Dastre said. "You are only second to the Lord when ites to fighting. But, this little kid is my opponent? For real?" He added as he looked at Zax who was still small even after wearing Cristal''s armor.


    Adam couldn''t find out why his power didn''t nullify themander''s power, but it was an undeniable fact that this was the worst oue.

 Chapter 66 Domain

    "Kuh!" Adam felt the impact of his fall throughout his body despite the superhuman-like strength that he had acquired through his training and by absorbing the neutral particles.


    But he didn''t even have time to scream in pain no matter how bad it hurt.


    "Such a shame. You still have a lot to learn," Themander said as he floated above Adam. Multiple ck spheres appeared around him, and as soon as they appeared, Adam was once again pulled violently by a mysterious force, but this time, he was dragged upward.


    "Damn- Kuh!"


    However, before Adam came closer to themander, he mmed onto the ground again, and the monsters that were around him also got the same treatment.


    Themander repeated this almost a dozen times and then gestured with his hand, and as he did, the stones, the monsters'' bodies, everything that wasn''t stuck on the ground was attracted by one of the ck spheres.


    These objects stuck together with the ck orb at the center and formed an enormous spherical mass.


    "The world is indeed cruel, and it takes more than just mere courage to reach your goal. But as long as you reach your goal, everything else doesn''t matter. Such a shame that you were in the Lord''s way." Themander continued his monologue.


    Adam couldn''t even hear themander''s monologue because he was being violently mmed to the ground repeatedly.


    "Guah!" He could hear his bones breaking and his interiors wailing in pain.


    However, Adam didn''t stop to think and forced himself to understand what was happening.


    He didn''t know about what a domain was and certainly not about the real ability of themander, but the only force that could pull things like that must be rted to gravitational force and this was the reason why he couldn''t nullify the effect of themander''s power, or so he concluded.


    Adam''s guess wasn''t off. Indeed, themander could manipte gravity and his power transformed his body into a gravity source, and inside of his domain, he could create ck spheres that could also create abnormal gravity force.


    And unless Adam''s power reached these ck spheres or themander himself, then he wouldn''t be able to nullify the effect of this power.


    This also showed the true nature of gifts, the ability to create. When someone managed to get powerful enough to create their domain, they could create an area where the true form of their power manifested, in other words, they could manipte thew of nature in that area to their benefit.


    Thus, high-level gift holders could manifest their power even if it didn''te from their body and they could feel that the area itself was connected to them.


    The size of their domain depended on every person and the amount of power that they needed to activate the domain.


    Adam was using a domain from the beginning but he wasn''t even aware of it. However, his understanding and his mastery of his power were stillcking.


    For example, people could observe the Crystallization of their power inside their domain. Their power manifested into ck spheres, portals, and lighting energy, but what about Adam?


    He couldn''t see anything and his power was invisible.


    Nevertheless, this also meant that he used a weaker version of his power all of this time, so weak that it didn''t even materialize and remained invisible.


    It was a fact that Adamcked the strength to use his full power, but if he wanted to survive themander''s next attack, he needed to think and act rapidly.


    *****


    Adam wasn''t the only one who was in a tricky situation.


    Rooooar!


    Zax and Cristal were facing a dragon that breathed ominous red mes, and unlike the wyverns, this monster was a lot bigger and stronger, and its scales were tougher than raw Sterium.


    "Did you think that you would beat me if you saw through my illusion?" Dastre said while riding on the dragon''s back. "Why did even kidse here in the first ce? Don''t tell me that you thought that you could save your friend just by yourselves." He continued.


    Dastre used the monsters to his advantage, and he was pretty skilled at controlling the dragon.


    This was a battle between a man riding a mythical creature out of a fantasy book and a little girl wearing a suit from a sci-fi movie.


    "Unfortunately, I won''t go easy on you just because you are a kid," Dastre added.


    The dragon rushed at Zax without giving her time to think about anything else.


    It breathed fire and tried to use its mouth to tear her apart.


    Roaaar!


    Fortunately, Cristal created a barrier using a force field to protect Zax from the hellfire. It was as effective as Adam''s power but it minimized the effect, and the suit which was made of Sterium would withstand the heat and avoid critical damage to the suit.


    Cristal and Zax''s biggest advantagey in their speed and ability to move more freely in midair.


    They continued to avoid Dastre and his Dragon while retaliating by aiming at Dastre himself rather than the dragon.


    Cristal''s cannon was not strong enough to pierce the dragon''s skin since she was not at her full power. In the first ce, she wasn''t built for battle, but she was just equipped with extra abilities.<sub> </sub>


    "Let''s target the wings," Cristal suggested. "The chance of winning is low, but since that''s not our goal, we should distract him and gain master some time."


    Cristal''s gun might not be able to directly pierce the dragon''s skin but if they could damage its wings as they did with the wyverns, it might spare some trouble.


    "But will he be alright? Things don''t look good for him¡­" Zax said, a little bit worried about the situation.


    "He will surely die. He is already past his limit." Cristal said, and her words took Zax by surprise. "Unless he uses his head."


    "W-what do you mean by that?" Zax asked. Unlike Adam, she wasn''t used to Cristal who didn''t mince her words.


    "From the beginning, our survival depended on Master. If he dies now, everything will be other."


    "I can see that! So shouldn''t we give him a hand?" Zax replied, almost as if she couldn''t believe Cristal''s attitude.


    However, Cristal carried another meaning that Zax wasn''t aware of.


    "We can''t do that. We will be caught in that gravitational field too," Cristal said.


    "What? So the enemy can create gravity?"


    "Yes, my sensor detected anomalies and this was the only exnation for master''s current crisis," Cristal continued.


    Still, it was not the time for such a discussion. It was Cristal who controlled the suit most of the time, so Zax was more of a copilot, but it was still her body and she couldn''t be distracted.


    "You are good at evading, aren''t you? But you can''t keep running forever," Dastre said. It looked like he was having fun chasing after Cristal and Zax on top of the dragon.


    Roaarr!


    Moreover, the dragons and the other monsters didn''t want to miss the chance to snack on them.


    *****


    Just a little bit away from Adam and Zax, there was a castle that looked like it was in ruin for millennia, and inside of the castle, there was a room.


    While Adam and Zax were fighting the Lord''s subordinates, Liu was in front of the Lord himself.


    Thirty minutes passed and Liu didn''t say anything but just stared at the Lord, and the Lord also stared back at her.


    The Lord asked Liu to hand over Verte so she could go back to the Empire, but Liu didn''t want to hand Verte to him.


    Therefore, she expected the Lord to force or even kill her, but instead, he didn''t move from his throne. He looked like he had too much time on his hands.


    Liu didn''t know what to do because she knew that she couldn''t run, and she just stood there.


    "Gu¡­"


    Verte was shaken by the Lord''s presence, but her hair glowed for a while now. Liu wasn''t sure about the reason why Verte was like that, but when she came to her sense, she felt like her interior was about to explode, and when Verte''s hair glowed, she felt better.


    After seeing this, Liu once again pondered Verte''s true identity.


    She remembered the request of the woman who entrusted Verte to her. She asked her to go to the where Adam lived, and then she realized that all of this might not be a mere coincidence.


    Her father sent her on this mission because it was important, but also because he didn''t trust the source of the information. Otherwise, he would have gone there himself.


    He used his daughter as his substitute, even though, the probability of the whole situation being a trap wasn''t that low. Liu knew that this was the kind of man her father was.


    Liu wasn''t aware of what her father was scheming in the dark, nor the people that had rtions with, but it was clear that it was not something simple.


    In the first ce, her father only told her to look for a woman and do everything necessary to extract a piece of information from her; information about the Tree of life and its fragments.


    However, when the woman that Liu found only entrusted Verte to her and asked her to leave as fast as possible, then go to the under the jurisdiction of Lord Kepalta.


    Lupic and Louis destroyed the woman''s house and killed her when Liu left, but she couldn''t save her as she was already far away from the ce.


    She thought that all of this was rted to the mission so she decided to hear the woman''s request. She didn''t expect things to go this way.


    After a long silence, the Lord finally said something. "Don''t test my patience."


    Liu came back to reality after she heard the Lord''s overbearing voice.


    "¡­"

 Chapter 67 Limits

    A huge spherical mass consisting of rock and debris formed in the sky and cast a ck shadow over the area where Adam''s worn-out figure could be seen, struggling to stand up on his feet.


    His clothes were torn apart, revealing his body which was covered by thick red blood, and the smile on his face disappeared.


    However, the monsters around him didn''t wait for him to recover and continue to rush like the mad beasts they were.


    Thus, he didn''t have the choice but to activate his power again even though he was clearly on the verge of passing out.


    "Damn it!" Adam spat out.


    Why the hell did he have to go through all of this pain? What if he died there? Would he have aplished anything at all? These thoughts crossed Adam''s mind as he assessed the situation that he was in.


    Until this point, he somehow managed to ovee the problems that appeared in front of him. After all, he was lucky to have his power.


    However, this time the circumstances were different because he decided to rush into the danger of his own volition.


    Maybe Adam was too confident in his ability, or maybe he cared for Liu, no one could guess his true motivations.


    But there was no denying the fact that a normal person would never go their way to another universe to save someone if this someone was just a mere acquaintance.


    And If they did, it must be because they were extremely kindhearted and heroic or they just wanted to satisfy their ego.


    "May the earth be appeasing for your soul!" Themander pointed towards Adam, and the huge mass rushed down.


    Understanding the situation in front of him, Adam began to think, gathering all of his brain cells and thinking about what he should do next like he never did before.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    ''This is bad!''


    The ck-armored dude was more powerful than anyone I had met. His ability to control gravity was something that I never expected to see this soon.


    My power couldn''t reach him, and I wasn''t able to nullify his attacks.


    Honestly, I was scared.


    My body hurt like hell, and I had a hard time breathing.


    This situation reminded me of the time when I was poisoned.


    But this time, I didn''t have time to get scared.


    ''I am a hypocrite, ain''t I?''


    Even the reason why I was in this situation was because of my hypocrisy, I knew that, but I would never say it out loud.


    I liked living in luxury and having a lot of money and doing nothing. I cared about my current face more than people thought, as much as I disliked pain. I liked to feel superior to the others, and I was attracted to Liu and wanted her to be mine.


    In the end, I was never satisfied with anything and I would alwaysin. This was my nature, and I wasn''t sure how to deal with my feelings, so I couldn''t even imagine Liu liking me back. In summary, I wasn''t sure of anything.


    Maybe I was wrong to desire such a thing. ''But that''s fine. I will face it all without averting my eyes. My wicked desires, my weaknesses, everything¡­ I won''t be swallowed by them, but I won''t deny them too.''


    Thesest few months taught me something that I couldn''t understand during my whole life. ''If I want something, I shouldn''t spare any effort no matter what kind of result I get. Otherwise, it''s no use toin about the things I can do or I can''t do, because this world isn''t so kind to let such a person live."


    It was not the time for regret. I needed to save Liu and tell her what I think of her.


    ''I can''t die here! That''s the only thing that I wouldn''t ept! No matter how stupid my reasons are, I won''t die!''


    I didn''t know if I was inspired by the shadow of death, but my thoughts were faster than usual and a smile appeared on my face again.


    What I was thinking about at that moment might have been nonsense, but it also meant that I didn''t want to get crushed by an artificial meteorite without doing anything.


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    Various thoughts crossed Adam''s mind, realizing that he was about to go through a very painful experience, but that didn''t improve the situation at all.


    The monsters still tried to push through the field created by his power, and the huge mass was huge enough to crush Adam with these monsters.


    He didn''t know if themander thought about this or if it was just a coincidence, but Adam couldn''t move out of the way.


    He needed more than just epting his wicked desires and casting away all regrets if he wanted to live.


    Adam''s power was derivated from the original primordial authority called Destruction.


    However, he couldn''t manifest its true form and couldn''t use its full potential, in other words, create the Antimatter.


    Until now, he absorbed the energy of primordial particles to strengthen his body and increased his strength, but he didn''t try to push the limits of his body to the point that he could manifest the true form of his power.<sub> </sub>


    After all, such an action could cause his instant death.


    But the situation didn''t give him the choice, and so he cast away his doubts and solely focused on how to deal with the object that was falling towards him.


    ''I can''t absorb enough neutral particles, and my body won''t be able to withstand the fallout,'' Adam thought, ''But if I have  to do it¡­''


    Adam was stupid if all of his actions were to be examined, but he had the feeling that he could achieve something in this life, so he didn''t want to die.


    "Damn it, I will take the risk!" He shouted.


    Apart from the neutral particles, Adam could feel thicker energy in the surrounding, and he could also feel this energy emanating from the monsters and swallowing the neutral particles.


    What if he absorbed this energy too? Would his power nullify its effect or would he turn into something grotesque?


    There was no telling what would happen to him, but Adam did it anyway.


    "Aaaa! Kuh!"


    He could feel something entering his body, and as if it was the exact opposite of the neutral particles within him, the process was followed by intense pain.


    However, Adam couldn''t lose his focus even for a second.


    All of that happened in a short amount of time, but the pain persisted, and he could feel an outburst of energy surging throughout his body.


    His goal was to push the use of his power to the extreme and expand it until it reached themander and the ck orb at the center of the huge mass.


    After that, he would use the monster''s body to protect himself against the impact while strengthening his body to the limit so that he would not die. He theorized that the mass would fall apart if he could neutralize the ck orb, so he had a higher chance of survival.


    He concentrated all of his strength, everything he had on expanding the range of his power, ignoring the pain, ignoring the monsters, ignoring the falling mass. "Aaaaaaaaaaa!"


    His action seemed illogical, stupid, and extremely desperate, but he pushed himself to the limit while absorbing the unknown energy.


    Even though Adam didn''t know, what he trying to do expanding his domain and manifest the true form of his power.


    And that was when it happened, a phenomenon that defied reality.


    In the very beginning, before colors were created there was nothing, so how would such scenery appear to humans'' eyes? No ck, no white just nothing.


    The human brain couldn''t process such information, and that was why the me that surrounded Adam''s body was colorless but appeared to look like tinum when seen by human eyes.


    Boom!


    The enormous mass finally impacted the ground, but it looked like Adam''s power didn''t reach themander.


    *****


    "Adam!" Zax shouted.


    She couldn''t understand why Cristal appeared to be unconcerned about Adam even though he was crushed by a huge mass.


    "What''s wrong with you? Let me go save him if you don''t want to!" She added.


    She even forgot that she also had to fight with a dragon, so it was Cristal who controlled the armor while she was focused on Adam''s situation.


    Rooarrr!


    Cristal said that even if they go there, they would bring more problems to Adam than solutions. She also exined that even if Adam died he wouldn''t wish for Zax to die with him, and so she left Cristal with her so that she could run away if things took a bad turn.


    However, Zax couldn''t ept such reasoning.


    She only met Adam and interacted with him for a short amount of time, but she already considered him as a friend.


    This was because she lived in a world where she couldn''t trust anyone, and where people treated each other like enemies and rivals that could potentially steal from them.


    It was a world where the strong made thew, and the smart get to live for another day.


    That was why, when she met Liu and the others she could finally use her talents for the benefit of the others and she began to invent many things that weren''t used for stealing or killing.


    She could finally be proud of her work.


    And when she met Adam, she could talk about her inventions all day without feeling awkward about it. After all, even though Liu and the others liked Zax, they had other interests.


    It was a small detail and was not even worth mentioning, but it was these small details that served as the foundation of a longsting friendship.


    But now, Liu was kidnapped and Adam was also crushed by a huge mass.


    Zax begged Cristal in tears to save Adam because she knew that she couldn''t save Liu alone. "This can''t be¡­. Nooo!"

 Chapter 68 Antimatter

    "What the hell is happening?!"


    Adam felt like he was disconnected from the world, from reality, and was alone inside of a dark and vast space.


    He waved his hand, but he couldn''t feel anything and his feet didn''t touch any kind of ground.


    However, this situation was different from the time when his consciousness was brought to a mystical world, or more exactly inside of a pocket version of the mirror dimension.


    This time, he was just sinking deep inside the ground, literally, and it was because he managed to survive and manifested a new form of his power without knowing it.


    "I need to do something about this because I begin to not feel my hands and my body feels like it''s made of air! Something is messing with my senses!"


    Adam tried to feel the ground by limiting his power, but even if he didn''t do that, he was about to run out of time.


    "It''s cold!" Adam finally felt the ground, but he couldn''t still feel anything with his hands, so he was still puzzled by the situation. "Did I fall inside of a hole or what?"


    Then, he decided to jump upward to see if something happened.


    Unexpectedly, he didn''t feel the gravity again as he jumped, and he didn''t even notice that he was underground.


    It didn''t even take him a second to emerge from the ground and appeared on the surface, but his momentum was too strong and he continued to soar to the sky, passing through the monsters like they were made of foam.


    "What the heck!?"


    Then, Adam stayed afloat, unable to feel the gravity. He pped his legs as if he was swimming, but instead of doing anything, he created cracks in the space around him.


    "Huh?" Then he also realized that he waspletely naked and didn''t have the bag that contained the stone or his sma sword.


    "Oh no, where did it go?" He was more concerned about the stone than his nakedness.


    He couldn''t see his external appearance but themander, Zax, and Dastre who looked at him opened their eyes wide.


    "I guess the goddess of luck hasn''t forsaken him yet or did my action contribute to creating this kind of oddity?" Themander wondered.


    Without a question, he had already used his power to stop Adam, as soon as he saw him emerging from the ground, but nothing happened.


    Adam''s hair appeared to be on fire but not a normal fire. The mes had a tinum color, simr to the aura that covered his body, so from their point of view, his hair had changed color all of sudden.


    Adam didn''t know about it yet, but this tinum color was actually not a substance, but just the effect of the antimatter obliterating everything that came in contact with him, whether it was some kind of force or some kind of substance and even space itself.


    This power was not for show, and if Zax or anyone else touched Adam while he was in this state, they would lose their hand.


    At first, Adam also couldn''t breathe, but he suppressed the power around his face first, although he did it instinctively since he couldn''t fully control the Antimatter.


    It was fortunate that he did that because if he didn''t do that, his brain wouldn''t be able able to process what he would have seen after he emerged from the ground.


    The antimatter was not visible, or to be precise, humans couldn''t see it with naked eyes, and they could only see the fabric of reality being destroyed in the most convincing way that their brain coulde up with. Consequently, no one knew what Adam would see if he looked at the world through the antimatter.


    Still, Adam felt like the tinum mes around him began to fade away. He could feel the wind caressing the upper half of his body, and he was slowlying down to the ground. He understood that he didn''t have much time.


    As soon as he touched the ground, the remaining monsters rushed at him again, but Adam just waved lightly and his hand prated the monsters'' bodies like they were made of bubbles.


    "I don''t know what''s going on, but there''s no time to waste! Let''s finish this!" Adam said and leaped toward themander.


    And as he did that, he made a hole in space without knowing i and cracks formed on his trajectory, revealing different kinds of iprehensible images.


    "Is this some kind of sign?" Themander said. He had tried to stop Adam by using almost thirty ck orbs, but Adam''s speed didn''t decrease.


    Themander was with the Lord since the Lord was young, and in a way, he was his mentor, but, he couldn''t do anything, and no one could do anything about the catastrophe that befell them and their entire world.


    He witnessed the day the young man that was a symbol of hope for many people turned into an abomination, losing everything that made him himself, for the sake of bringing everything back to how it was.<sub> </sub>


    Themander always wondered if such a thing could even be done, but in pitch-ck darkness, a little glimmer of light could make the difference, or so they all hoped as they continued day and night to convince themselves that they could bring back what they lost.


    But was such a thing even possible? At least, the Lord appeared to be convinced that it was the case.


    "Rudeus, I hope we weren''t wrong¡­"


    Adam''s movements were precipitous and before he knew it, themander was already dead, torn apart into two.


    "Master! Suppress that power immediately!" Cristal said as Zax and she followed Adam who couldn''t stop his momentum and headed towards the castle.


    As for Dastre, his eyes widened as if he couldn''t believe that themander would lose. "Tch! How many of us still have to die? Well, the Lord will surely win¡­ Won''t he?"


    Then Dastre flew away with his dragon. It seemed like he didn''t want to end up like themander. However, he didn''t know that the Lord and he were the only ones left, and all of hispanions were already gone.


    "I still need this to save Liu! I don''t know if I could manage to do this again after this. I am already¡­ Kuh!" Before Adam could finish his sentence, he felt like his interior was about to burst out.


    "Cristal? What''s going on? What''s up with Adam and what is happening?" Zax asked in a panic, losing herposure.


    However, Cristal was more preupied with Adam''s situation because unlike Zax and Adam himself, she had more or less grasped the situation.


    Firstly, if Adam didn''t suppress his power and moved recklessly as he did, he might end up somewhere else outside of this world, and in his current state, it would take a long time to find his way back if he somehow managed toe back without dying.


    Moreover, Adam had already spent almost all of his life force, pushing his body to the limit, and his cells were being subjected to an extreme charge of unknown energy that was beyond their limits so they were breaking apart very fast.


    After all, Adam''s body was still mortal, and he couldn''t use his power to create an indestructible body. Thus, Cristal knew that at this rate Adam only had a few weeks left to live, and if he continued to strain his body, that time limit would decrease to only a few days.


    Still, even if Cristal didn''t warn Adam, his body gave up and he fell to the ground.


    "Adam!"


    Zax rushed and caught him.


    "I am fine, let''s not waste time. I don''t think I would be able live with it if I let Liu die," Adam said, trying to stand up on his feet.


    However, Zax knew that Adam was anything but fine.


    "Why? Why do you go this far for someone that you just met?" Zax asked with tears on her face.


    "Because I am stupid¡­ And I don''t want to stay stupid forever," Adam replied, but he stumbled as he tried to stand up so Zax supported him.


    She didn''t understand Adam''s words, but again, a mysterious smile appeared on Adam''s face.


    Adam had many ws as a person, and he wasn''t always honest with his feelings. Most of the time, he even appeared to be pathetic.


    But all of that was because he was afraid, he was afraid that people would reject his true self when they learn about his desires. However, he didn''t want to admit that he was scared of such a thing, thinking that it was pathetic to be afraid of such a thing, so he hide it, creating a wall between him and the others.


    In the end, it was not the rejection from these girls that scared him even in his previous life, but it was the thought of what would happen if they epted and discovered his true nature.


    That was why he tended to go for girls that were actually out of his league. He always tried to convince himself of the opposite, but that made him more pitiful.


    However, this time, it was different. He wanted to save Liu and tell her his feelings, not out of fear, but because he wanted to face his fear.


    But when they finally arrived inside the room where the Lord upied, it was already toote.


    Even after all of that, they still underestimated the reality of things.


    Liu was lying on the ground holding Verte tightly, and her hair turned white and began to deteriorate, her skin full of wrinkles and her body was nothing but skin.


    Adam felt something that he couldn''t exin with words alone.

 Chapter 69 Despair

    One of Adam''s most painful memory from his previous life was when his mother died, and he rarely talked about it.


    He would never forget about his mother, but as days went by, he managed to move on little by little. It was hard, it was painful, but Adam wanted to at least be someone that his mother wanted him to be, so he studied and got a job, but the only thing he didn''t have was a lover.


    Adam was not always an honest and direct person, he even act childishly at times, and when he was young, he was very introverted and had few friends, so his mother became his best friend.


    It was not like Adam didn''t talk at all, it was just that he had trust issues since he was little, so he didn''t get along with other people, and because of his character, he was very self-centered and got into fights often. Sometimes he wasn''t aware of his surroundings and acted like a moron, so other kids tended to avoid him.


    Thus, he spent more time at home with his mother than ying outside and began to get interested in her work because it was rted toputers.


    However, his mother had a weak constitution and got sick often, so she had to work from home, and as Adam grew up, he had to take care of her.


    In summary, the two of them had a healthy rtionship.


    There were cases like this everywhere around the world so it was not that rare, but still, when her mother said herst words to Adam, it hit him to the core.


    "Never forget to brush your teeth¡­" She said.


    Other people might wonder why such a word made Adam feel like trying to continue and live on, but they would never know what it felt to be him.


    ''They would never understand. They would look at me with disgust. They would avoid me.'' Or so Adam thought.


    He was disorganized, he waszy, and he was never the perfect son, but in the end, his mother was there. This was also the reason why Adam was so bad with human rtions because he was so used to exposing all of his bad sides to his mother, but not everyone was like his mother.


    Against all odds, Adam managed to do better than expected and managed to be an adult, but he never truly matured as a person.


    His story was not even that dramatic, or tear-jerker, it was even extremelymon, but he didn''t want to go through that again.


    Losing his mother made Adam realize that some people couldn''t be reced.


    Adam had just stepped out of hisfort zone and wanted to face his traumas, his weaknesses, his feelings, but¡­


    *****


    Blood came out of Adam''s eyes, as if they were tears, and not only from his eyes but almost from all other his body.


    This was a very extreme condition and he was about to die.


    He was naked, but he looked more like a ghoul than a human.


    Adam had already gone beyond the limits, but he used his remaining life force to leap forward without holding back and punched the Lord with his fist. "Bastard!!!!"


    Smash!


    He managed to use the antimatter for a few seconds but a ck shadow materialized and blocked Adam''s first.


    However, as soon as the Lord saw that Adam''s fist was about to prate the ck shadow, his eyes widened and he backed away.


    "Miss Liu!!!" Zax also dashed forward and checked Liu''s condition.


    Finding the room was indeed easy, and entering was even easier, but they were still too optimistic, and what they were witnessing seemed to make them aware of the cold reality once again, because as soon as they entered the room, despair was apparent on their face.


    "She is still alive," Cristal announced. "But at this rate, she won''t survive."


    "No, no, no! This is not true! This is not true!" Zax shook her head and shouted like she was about to go insane.


    "Kuh.." Adam on the other hand fell to his knees and coughed a mouthful of blood. His eyes were half open and everything that appeared in his field of view was blurry and reddish.


    "Guuuu¡­" Even Verte looked like she was affected by what happened.


    Liu was lying on the ground, her body almost mummified. There was something wrong with her but Adam and Zax couldn''t do anything about it as they didn''t even understand how it had happened.


    This was a situation that Adam and the others feared but never wished to happen, but the reality was cruel, and what they feared the most ended up happening.<sub> </sub>


    "Crista¡­l, Zax¡­ Take Liu and Verte, then use that portal to run." Adam said meekly. His head was so messed up that he had stopped thinking for a second, and he didn''t even care about why there was a portal there, or why the Lord didn''t attack them yet, in the end, he still had to fight.


    It was clear that the Lord did something to Liu and he was about to use his power on Zax and Adam too, or so Adam concluded.


    However, only Adam''s power could nullify the effect of the Lord''s power, so he had to wait until Cristal and Zax took Liu and Verte away, but he wasn''t even sure if he could activate his power again.


    Adam had tried to escape reality by thinking that as long they got out of this situation, he would do something about Liu so there was nothing to worry about.


    Still, his expression didn''t match his this attempt to calm himself.


    "Hmmm¡­ What is all of this about?" The Lord said as he looked at Adam who stared at him menacingly. "Why are you here?"   The Lord''s question was at the same time directed at Adam and rted to the fact that they had entered the castle. After all, this meant that they managed to pass by themander.


    Adam was recovering his strength and he didn''t move recklessly, but he wasn''t about to answer the Lord''s question. His eyes were full of killing intent.


    Cristal hurried and transformed the armor into a bigger sized one and she took Liu and Verte in her arms.


    Zax was still in a daze as if she had lost her mind, fixing Liu''s face.


    "Leave that thing here, and you can go¡­.. This is getting annoying." The Lord said, looking at Cristal. He was confident in his ability, but he was also a little bit warry of Adam, still, from his point of view, they were not much of a threat.


    Moreover, they lookedpletely ignorant about Verte''s true nature, so the Lord looked like he was willing to let them go.


    "Cristal, hurry!" Adam said, pushing his vocal cords to the limits.


    Despair slowly caught up with them, and it couldn''t be stopped.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s Pov]:::


    ''Damn it! Damn it! Why does everything always turn out like this?''


    Just a while ago, I could see some hope and I felt like this was the time to move forward. ''But damn it! Damn it!''


    I didn''t know if this was karma, or if my luck ran out, or whatever it was, but things were never this bad.


    My limbs and my interiors felt like they were exposed to a sea of me, and the guy in front of me could block my punch and Liu was in that state.


    I gritted my teeth and endured the pain, but my mind was about to break apart. I felt like my entire life now holding on to a thin string.


    I was out of ideas, I didn''t know what to do to get all of us out of this situation. I knew that I couldn''t let my emotions overflow uncontrobly, but I couldn''t even look at Liu, I didn''t want to look at her the way I was now.


    Instead, I looked at the guy in front of me, the origin of all this.


    It seemed like the guy wanted something from Liu, and I didn''t know what he wanted but it seemed like she didn''t want to hand it over, so it must have been something extremely important.


    He also seemed extremely confident in his ability, so I didn''t think I could beat him that easily even with my full power.


    I needed to think, but there was nothing to think about. My head was already full of mess, so it was hard to find the correct answer, if there was a correct answer, to begin with.


    ''What should I do? Damn it! I am so weak right now¡­ So powerless! But there must be something I can do!''


    I knew that I was just distracting myself from evident truth but I couldn''t help it, if I didn''t do that, I would break apart.


    I tried to absorb more energy from the surroundings but my body didn''t listen to mymand.


    It was helpless.


    It was the beginning of the end.


    But I couldn''t give up yet, I couldn''t die yet.

 Chapter 70 Despair (Part 2)

    :::[Third person POV]:::


    Faced with despair, Adam averted his eyes and locked his emotions.


    It was not something that could be done easily, but in a way, he was shaken by the situation as much as Zax, to the point that he decided to not ept it as something unchangeable and definite, believing that he could do something about the situation.


    Was he too optimistic? If only it was just optimism. What he was trying to do was something more tragic because he was creating his version of the truth in his mind, and he might as well be insane when he realized that in reality there was no way out.


    The question was why? Why was he so affected by what happened?


    No one could answer these questions for him because no one could understand Adam''s heart.


    It seemed like he was more fond of Liu, even harboring strong feelings for her, to the point that this situation made him realize he couldn''t even protect someone he liked despite everything that he told himself.


    No matter how Adam tried to conceal his real thoughts and desires about Liu previously, for example by convincing himself that Liu might be his enemy so he should be careful, in the end, his actions didn''t lie.


    Was it that hard to be true to one''s self?


    *****


    Despite his hostility toward the Lord, Adam didn''t have the choice but to exchange words with him.


    "What do you want?" Adam asked, ring at the Lord. His question was unclear, but what he wanted to ask was about the thing that the Lord''s wanted from Liu.


    He was not acting like his usual self because he looked like he prioritized Liu and the other''s safety over his own life.


    He didn''t know what the Lord wanted or what were his true intentions, so Adam tried to gain some time, seeing that the Lord was not a brainless monster.


    Of course, Adam was full of killing intent, and he wanted to tear the Lord apart, but he was holding himself back from doing something stupid.


    But was he showing that he had matured by doing so? Even the Lord questioned Adam''s action and examined the young man in front of him.


    Then, he turned away from Adam and walked to his throne, and sat down. "Leave that thing, that baby here, and you can leave¡­ Your woman''s life will be spared too. Don''t test my patience any longer."


    After hearing the Lord''s words Adam''s eyes widened, but then his killing intent intensified.


    As for Cristal, she stared at the shadow below the portal, and she knew that something bad would ur if she passed by it, and her guess was correct since the room was already inside of the Lord''s domain.


    Cristal waited for Adam to recover enough energy to use his power, but such a thing would also cause Adam''s death, so she didn''t move and waited.


    Nevertheless, it would be bad if Liu didn''t receive immediate medical care, and the Lord''s attitude suggested that the result would be the same if they left Verte there and fled or chose to resist.


    p Cristal knew what the best choice was but she decided to not speak, after all, it was not a matter of logic anymore.</anda>


    Adam gritted his teeth, swallowed his anger, endured the pain, eliminated some of the thoughts inside his head, and talked calmly."Why do you need her? She is just a baby," he said.


    The thought that they could talk about this peacefully didn''t even cross Adam''s mind, but as long as he could gain more time, he would even try to prolong the conversation. He was not even sure why the Lord had this attitude, but if he could take advantage of it, then it was for the better, or so he thought.


    "If you don''t know what that thing is, then don''t ask. You are fortunate to not know," the Lord answered without pitying Adam or trying to sound sarcastic. He talked as if he was saying the obvious.


    However, the Lord''s answer implied that Verte was more important than Adam thought she was, and even Cristal wasn''t sure of Verte''s true nature so she decided to not make any assumptions, but it was clear that Verte was somehow rted to what was going on throughout the multiverse.


    Nevertheless, Adam wouldn''t hand Verte to the Lord without knowing the truth, or so he decided.


    Adam frowned and stood up on his feet. He was a man full of contradictions, but he couldn''t sacrifice Verte so he could live."I can''t do that."


    It was as if Adam was trying to y the hero because he could go home alone if he wanted, forgetting all of this and living the life he always wanted since there was no reason for him to go through all of this trouble. After all, Liu was not his lover and Verte wasn''t his baby. But he knew that when he closed his eyester, then try to sleep, his head would be a sort of hell that he never wish to live with. That was the kind of person he was, and it wasn''t always a trait necessary if he wanted to survive. Moral and ideals couldn''t bring the dead back to life, after all.


    Looking at Adam, the Lord asked another question, as if he somehow began to show pity for him. "Do you even know what you doing?"


    Perhaps, something about Adam or Liu reminded him of his past, but even if he was intimidating, the Lord adopted an attitude that was different from his usual self. "Is that thing more important than your woman?"


    The Lord was aware of Verte''s true nature so he might have a point, but deciding about such a thing was beyond Adam.


    It seemed like the Lord was even ready to do something about Liu''s situation, so all Adam needed was to choose to sacrifice Verte for the sake of everyone else.<sub> </sub>


    There was also the fact that Verte might be an entity that could bring destruction to the people around her in the future, and that might be why the Lord wanted her, and if Adam thought about it that way, then it seemed like the Lord was not as bad as he seemed.


    Moreover, even if they managed to escape now, the Lord would certainly find them again, using the method he used to find Verte.


    Adam and the others had too much to lose if they refused the Lord''s offer.


    Still, without morals, a man was no different from a monster. Adam might be a bad person, wicked, pathetic, but at least, he would not sacrifice Verte for something she might do in the future. Even if she turned out to be a monster, Adam would kill her with his one hand.


    That was why, Adam didn''t answer the Lord and braced himself for what wasing, a battle that might be hisst.


    Was a baby''s life more important than Liu''s? Adam wasn''t even thinking about that since the beginning.


    "Hmph! You will repent for your ignorance in your death." The Lord said as he finally showed a suffocating killing intent.


    Dark shadows appeared from below his feet as if they were alive and rushed at Adam and Cristal.


    From the beginning, the Lord only wore a ck and majestic cape on his body, and everything else was covered by ck shadows that looked like mes. His red eyes were now looking down at Adam, and his silver hair waved unnaturally.


    However, Adam activated his power and managed to block the Lord''s attack.


    Then, he said to Cristal. "Now!"


    As soon as Cristal heard Adam''s word, she leaped towards the door at an insane speed.


    Swoosh!


    However, before she could reach the portal, it disappeared, swallowed by the shadow.


    Adam had not expected that the Lord could also close the portal. "Wha?"


    It was not only him who hide his card.


    "Ignorance is truly the root of all evil." The Lord said, and he appeared behind Cristal. His movement was so fast that Adam couldn''t follow him with his eyes.


    He grabbed Cristal''s head from behind, but Adam managed to neutralize him with his power. This was Adam''s aim since the beginning, and Cristal was just the bait.


    This was theirst hope.


    The shadow covering the Lord''s body disappeared and only his cape remained.


    However, the Lord''s eyes moved and looked at Adam. "What are you? You are this ignorant even though you are already involved in all of this?"


    Shadows appeared little by little around the Lord, even though Adam''s power was still active.


    "Cristal, move away from him!" Adam shouted.


    But it was toote, Cristal''s parts crumbled as if they were made of dust. However, before she was destroyed, she disassembled herself. She managed to move Zax, Verte, and Liu before leaving only her core falling on the ground.


    "Nooo!" Yet again, Adam lost someone.


    The Lord had a hard time moving, but he was not overwhelmed by Adam''s power.


    "You are too na?ve if you thought that you could best me the way you are now. You made the wrong decision by being too greedy. You should have been grateful that I let you leave and discarded the thought that you could save everyone without paying the price." The Lord said as he approached Adam.


    His power was also rted to the Primordial authority, so Adam''s weaker version of destruction couldn''t do anything much to him.


    Adam stood in front of Liu, Verte, and Zax who lost consciousness due to the shock. For some reason, steam wasing out of his body, as if it was burning itself from the interior due to the extreme conditions that it had to go through.


    Adam''s skin was not even white anymore, it turned into an ugly color as if he had rotted.


    "Gu¡­" Verte looked at Adam.

 Chapter 71 Verte

    From the beginning, people had always feared things they didn''t understand.


    Even progress and evolution were not always met with open arms, so someone practicing something as dark and ominous sounding as witchcraft would certainly meet persecution.


    "Find that which and let''s kill her! She will bring disaster to our city!"


    An enraged crowd filled the dark hallways, and the streets, holding torches and weapons of all kinds in their hands.


    Hiding from this crowd, a woman peeked from a window, looking down at the streets.


    She was a woman in her forties and had a different aura from a normal person. She looked like she was not ignorant and had enough knowledge to overthrow a whole country.


    However, this woman was now being persecuted by the people that were once her neighbors, her friends, and her family, and the reason was the knowledge that she had acquired and how she had used it.


    In this world, what she attempted to do was considered witchcraft, an act of profanity against the gods would evoke their wrath, or so people believed.


    But why did this woman have to go to such an extent? The people surrounding her would never understand her motive, because people''s emotions were not the same, even if they go through the same thing.


    This woman desired one thing, to the point that she would even throw away her humanity to do it. She wanted them back, her children, her family, and she was ready to do anything for the sake of her wish.


    Thus, she turned into the only thing that was powerful enough to aplish such a thing, she risked it all and practiced dark magic.


    The source of dark magic was corruption, another form of energy that existed and expanded throughout the multiverse, simr to primordial particles.


    The country that she lived in was no different from Ennd during the industrial revolution, so most people didn''t believe in the existence of supernatural powers anymore, at least those who didn''t go to church.


    However, even though primordial particles were limited or almost nonexistent in this universe, some individuals possessed special abilities and awakened their gift, even though it was weak.


    This woman had awakened her gift which let her peek a few seconds into the future.


    At first, she thought that these were just some kind of shbacks, but when she saw the death of her children in one of her visions and then the whole ident had happened like how she saw it, she couldn''t help but believe in the existence of supernatural power, and of course, people didn''t believe her.


    "Maybe you are cursed, you should go to the church!"


    They treated her as a mentally ill person, and as time passed, she was treated badly by her peers, and of course, they didn''t let her alone and always find ways to make fun of her. Until the day when they found that the woman was practicing dark magic, and as if they waited for something like this to happen, they showed their twisted side who were just bored of their own lives and wanted to see violence.


    "The things that you seek are not here. The thing that can grant your wish doesn''t exist in this world." A voice cem from behind the woman as she peeked through the window. The woman was not alone inside the room where she hide, and she knew that her time was counted.


    "What should I do?" She asked, looking at the mysterious person who appeared in front of her not long ago.


    The mysterious person handed an item to her. "Look for the fragments of the Tree of life. This will lead you there."


    "What is this?"


    "When you use it, you will understand. Your knowledge is wasted in the world." The mysterious person said, then disappear as mysteriously as they appeared.


    The woman looked at the small transparent bottle containing a silver substance.


    "She is inside!"<sub> </sub>


    "Move! I will break the door!"


    Boom!


    "Huh? Hey, there''s no one here?"


    "What, how is that possible, we searched everywhere. How did she manage to sneak past us?"


    Unfortunately for these bloodthirsty people, they would never find the woman, and they would never know what happened. Legends about her spread and she came to be known as the Blood witch.


    The woman had already gone inside of the mirror dimension, where she spent almost hundreds of years in an environment that could turn a sane person into a psychopath.


    "Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where is this? Where am I?" She didn''t even remember how many times she had asked the same question.


    At first, everything looked the same, a monotonous world, but then it changed every time she thought about something different or used her power to find what would happen next.


    She wandered around the mirror dimension for a long time until¡­


    "Where am I? Where am I? What is this? What is this?"


    She saw a single tree branch on the ground and she looked around, but no one was there.


    This was extremely weird because there was no sign of whatsoever vegetation in the area.


    She had never forgotten about her real goal, but as time passed by, she was more and more lost in her imagination, as if she was always dreaming, and was disconnected from reality.


    She picked the tree branch and stared at it for a long time, then suddenly, the tree''s branch glowed and turned into a baby.


    She wasn''t aware of it, but the tree of life branch fused with her soul, giving her the ability to create one living being. The thing that she wanted the most, was a baby.


    However, it was not her children, so she thought that the mysterious person had tricked her.


    However, she realized that the mysterious person never said that she would get her children back, so she understood that they yed with her emotions using words.


    However, she didn''t understand why the person went through all of that trouble.


    Still, she wasn''t so heartless to the point of discarding the cute baby. So, she called the baby Verte and took care of her.


    Also, her power was amplified and she acquired the ability to peek through the multiple futures that awaited her, so she could manage to get out of the mirror world.


    However, she made a mistake and passed through a dimension where time was elerated, so when she came to Adam''s world, she was already an old woman.


    That was when she met Liu, used her power for thest time, and saw Adam.


    The events after that were already told, which lead to the situation where Adam needed a miracle to survive.

 Chapter 72 Verte (Part 2)

    A Miracle is a pricey urrence, and sometimes, a whole civilization could be annihted for one miracle to happen.


    Adam''s reincarnation was a miracle in itself, but God only knows what price had to be paid for that to happen.


    And now, another miracle was about to ur, and the price for this miracle would be hefty, but it would increase Adam and the others'' chance of survival.


    "Gu¡­" Verte''s hair glowed as she tried to crawl towards Adam.


    Then she floated and touched Adam''s back with her little hand.


    Adam himself wasn''t evenpletely aware of what was happening in his surroundings anymore. If he pushed his limits just a little bit more, he would have died while standing.


    The Lord on the other hand looked like he knew about what he was witnessing, and for him, it was something bad. "Ignorant!" The Lord shouted.


    The circumstances leading to this exact moment were anything but coincidence, and the Lord was convinced that there must be something going, a scheme that was beyond him, Adam, and everyone else.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    ''It-s fine n-ow.''


    Suddenly, I heard a voice inside my head. It was not very clear, but I could feel something surging from deep inside of me. ''Who is there?''


    I was sure that everything would end there, but I didn''t want to die yet, so I continued to stand up, averting my attention from all of the negative thoughts.


    If I let these thoughts invade my head, I would be consumed by regret and anger, and wouldn''t be able to stand up, so it was necessary.


    I didn''t even think about the pain, as if my senses were bing numb and insensitive to the agony.


    The final boss seemed to be speaking to me but I couldn''t even hear him. And I was wondering about it for a while now, but it felt like he was going easy on us as if he didn''t intend to kill us.


    I couldn''t understand why he had this kind of attitude, like trying to exchange conversation with me.


    The only thing that I could still feel, hear and see was the face that appeared behind me.


    ''Verte?''


    I didn''t know how she did it but she floated in the air and her voice was transmitted directly to my head.


    After that Verte turned into a tree branch and then scattered into particles of light and entered my body.


    When she did that, I saw Verte''s memory from the day she came to life until this day.


    I saw a woman that looked like her mother, but I didn''t know what happened to her after Verte left with Liu.


    Some of the events that I saw through Verte''s eyes were iprehensible, but from the look of it, I was just too ignorant.


    Then, I saw Liu''s face through Verte''s eyes and her voice when she talked.


    ''I see, so that''s why Liu came to our. She is a good person¡­''


    Liu''s character and the situation were moreplicated than I thought it was, but she was a kindhearted person.


    Liu had always taken care of Verte although she was not even rted to her, and she even epted that woman''s request.


    ''I understand why Verte is so attached to her now.''


    After that, I saw myself through Verte''s eyes. ''Is that me? Why is my hair silver? I don''t remember these events¡­''


    Then, I felt Verte''s emotions and her desire to live. ''Sorry¡­ Sorry¡­ Sorry that you had to do this.'' I said.


    Even though she was not a human born naturally, she was an intelligent and living being that had emotions. It was as if she was born from a miracle, and now she nullified this miracle so that Liu and everyone else could survive.


    ''Thank you¡­ See you, again, Verte.''


    I finally discovered Verte''s true nature, but it didn''t change the fact that she deserved better.


    As long as Verte was alive, some individuals would target her due to her nature, and she turned to me, trying to find the protection, knowing that I was also a being like her.


    In the end, I was the one protected by her.


    However, my heart was calm, as if Verte''s emotions affected me, and I wanted to live more than ever. ''I am always being protected, aren''t I? I am grateful.''


    I felt like showing gratitude rather than ming myself, that way, these sacrifices wouldn''t be wasted.


    I didn''t know what, but something changed in me.


    I felt I understood many things, and learned new facts, but had more questions that needed to be answered.


    It felt like time stopped as if I was given a break after going through a hell of a situation.


    After that, I felt like my body healed but nothing else happened.<sub> </sub>


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    "You don''t even know what you are doing," The Lord continued. "Seeing ignorant people like you infuriate me."


    Adam just looked like he was standing there, but something was going on inside of his consciousness, and he was changing.


    His body was still covered in blood, but he was now fully recovered. A life in exchange for life.


    However, what happened was moreplicated than just a simple exchange.


    Verte was a fragment of the Tree of life, and she fused with Adam''s soul, giving him the power to take one step toward the next level of his existence.


    Adam didn''t feel that something had changed in him, but something had definitely changed, and soon, these changes would be apparent.


    "Why are you so talkative?" Adam said, looking at the Lord.


    All of that happened in just a few minutes, so Adam''s power was still active all of that time, and it intensified.


    The shadows that had materialized around the Lord dissipated once again, and he was surprised.


    However, the Lord wasn''t even fazed, and as if he had given up on what he was thinking to do, he said a few words. "You don''t understand anything." Then he leaped forward.


    Even though his power was limited, he wasn''tpletely overwhelmed and his physical ability didn''t decrease that much.


    And even if Adam recovered, the Lord was not weaker than him with his current power.


    He couldn''t even follow the Lord''s movement with his eyes, despite his training and his battle with the monsters.


    "Guh!"Adam tried to block the Lord''s punch but it was too powerful, so he felt the impact on his stomach.


    The impact sent Adam flying, but before he could crash on the wall, the Lord kicked him from behind.


    Crack!


    Adam felt his bones breaking and he was propelled upward, but then again, the Lord sent him mming to the ground with an attack.


    Boom!


    The impact of Adam''s fall created a big hole in the center of the room, and the whole ce shook violently.


    The Lords looked down at the crater as hended on the ground. It was as if he was saying that he could deal with Adam with just brute strength alone even if he didn''t use his power.


    Nevertheless, the fact that the Lord could move despite being affected by Adam suggested that he had a power simr to Adam''s. An authority rted the the the primordial authorities.


    And the only way to obtain such power was to fuse one''s would with a fragment of the Tree of life.


    Primordial authorities were different from authorities awakened by other means because they were absolute.


    "If only you know what you have done." The Lord said as if he was still irritated by Adam''s choice.


    However, Adam didn''t have the choice, even though he had amazing power.


    "Kuh! Why do you talk like you know everything? It''s maddening!" Adam said as he emerged from the rubbles.


    Then he rushed towards Liu and Zax, then put them to a safer location, behind one of the huge pirs that supported the whole ce.


    The Lord didn''t do anything and watched Adam. Even if Adam tried to run away, he was confident that could take him down from where he was.


    Adam knew this too, so there was no choice but to settle this in the most primitive way.


    "Discarding everything isn''t enough." The Lord said. "The more you get powerful, the more is the price that you have to pay."


    Adam didn''t understand what the Lord was even talking about. "Why are you trying to talk about philosophy with me? Let''s finish this!"


    Adam leaped forward and tried to attack the Lord with punches and kicks, but the Lord defended against them all.


    Boom! Boom!


    Their exchange of heavy blows created shockwaves that sent shook the whole ce and made the ground quiver.


    Their power was active while they fought, but they couldn''t overwhelm one another.  But in terms of fighting ability, the Lord was more powerful, quicker, and more experienced, and the difference was obvious.


    "Guh!"


    Adam felt the Lord''s fist on his face, then on his gut, and he was sent rolling on the ground before crashing on one of the huge pirs.


    "Now that you have that fragment fused with your soul, I have no choice but to kill you and retrieve the fragments from your dead body. That''s the only way," The Lord said. "You are not affected by my power even before you fused with that fragment, so it seems like you already had one beforeing here, and now, you have two. With this, I may be able to achieve my goal."


    As the Lord said, the only way to retrieve a fragment of the tree of life already fused with someone else''s soul was to kill them. After all, the tree fragments became self-aware when they fuse with someone''s soul and unless they die with their host, their personality wouldn''t disappear.

 Chapter 73 Rudeus

    Once upon a time, there was a man named Rudeus...


    "Look, she is holding your finger. Isn''t she adorable?"


    ¡­He was now witnessing a miracle of life, something that he never thought would generate such an inexplicable emotion in his heart.


    Rudeus could feel that his world was changing just by looking at the little girl who held his finger and smiled at him.


    "Adorable." He said.


    "Yes, she takes after you, after all." Rudeus''s wife said in a yful tone, looking at his dumbfounded face.


    Rudeus was a tough-looking man who went through a lot of perilous battles to free his world from the control of the fallen gods, abominations who were half-human and half-monster.


    He was a hero, born from people''s wishes, and wielded the sword of freedom and power.


    At least, that was how he was depicted in the storybooks that were read to the children by their parents.


    However, there was an exnation for his sudden rise, and it was moreplicated than most people thought.


    In their world, the abundance of primordial particles in the environment was low, and so, some people who were knowledgeable enough to notice their existence developed a n to fight against the monsters that appeared in their world.


    They put a few babies inside of a special room and then used the life force of thousands of people to condense the number of particles inside the room, hoping that at least one or two of these babies could awaken their gift. It was nothing but a gamble, but seeing that their current technology and weapons couldn''t do anything to the monsters, the rulers worked together on this project for the first time in their entire history.


    Of course, none of them were aware of the existence of the gift, so they called it magic and tried to exploit it to their advantage.


    The rulers knew about the true horrors and the threats that came with the monsters, because it was not only their ferocity but the corruption that they spread in their surroundings, affecting everything.


    This was theirst desperate attempt to create a living weapon, powerful enough to obliterate the monsters to their root.


    And fortunately, the countless of life sacrificed for the sake of their world were not lost in vain, and a level 7 gift holder finally appeared, after many failures.


    This young man was known for his indomitable character and ruthless behavior, and his name was Rudeus.


    He possessed a particr gift that could elerate his movements, making it look like time had stopped. Indeed, his power was rted to time, one of three sub-authorities of the Primordial authority "Creation".


    Moreover, Rudeus honed his fighting skill and trained his body to the limit, making him the most powerful man in his world at that time.


    And even though the monsters were depicted as fallen gods in the stories, they were nothing more than levels 4 and 5, and even the strongest was a minotaur.


    In the end, Rudeus and his friend managed to beat the Minotaur and found the portal where the monsters appeared from. However, they were not able to close it so the area was turned into a fortress, sealing the portal deep underground.


    From the perspective of someone who lived in a world where the number of primordial particles was abundant, Rudeus feats sounded extremely easy, but for him and hispanions, it was close to a suicide mission.


    After all, even if Rudeus awakened his gift, he could only use it a few times a day, and sometimes, he couldn''t use it at all when the corruption in the environment was too thick.


    That was when Rudeus came in contact with corruption for the first time and absorbed it as a desperate attempt to win against powerful monsters.


    At first, he didn''t feel that much change, and he even got more powerful.


    After his victory, he returned to his country and married Rita, a woman that he had saved during his journey, and they had a baby.


    Rudeus felt happiness as he spent time with his wife and his daughter. He wish with all of his heart that these moments would continue forever.


    The monsters also appeared to have disappeared from their world and peace reigned.


    But...


    "Rudeus, how can you¡­?" His wife said, looking at him with an expression that he had never seen before, after all, his wife''s eyes were full of terror.


    Unfortunately, the effect of the corruption finally became apparent to Rudeus.


    Rudeus looked at the hand that hit his wife. "I¡­ I didn''t mean to, what''s going on with me?"


    Rudeus became scared, not of monsters, not of his enemies, but of himself and what he had be.


    Something in him had changed, it was as if his violent side was bing more and more apparent. The emotions that he once felt towards his wife and daughter were overshadowed by an urge to destroy, and his head was full of ominous thoughts.


    Moreover, he became more and more powerful, to the point that destroying the world by himself wasn''t impossible.


    Even his physical appearance changed dramatically; his hair turned white and he grew taller.<sub> </sub>


    In the end, Rudeus decided to go into seclusion, telling his wife that he would find a way to deal with his situation.


    "Don''t worry, I won''t be gone for long."


    His wife and his daughter sent him off. "Take care of yourself¡­ Vivian needs her father."


    Rudeus smiled, he knew that his wife was worried, but he had be emotionally unstable. "I know, I love you two."


    There was no telling when he wouldpletely lose control of himself and be a mad beast, and Rudeus couldn''t take the risk of staying with his family while knowing that, so he left on his journey and isted himself.


    Unfortunately, at that time, Rudeus was not yet aware of the true meaning of the monsters'' invasion, and when he realized the truth, it was already toote.


    *****


    Boom!


    Once again Adam crashed against one of the huge pirs and the whole ce shook violently, causing the ceiling to begin to copse.


    Rudeus was better than Adam in every aspect when it came to fighting. His punches packed more power, and his agility and battle instinct helped him to dominate the battle.


    If Adam wanted to win, he needed to be smart and very cunning. He thought about using the antimatter again, but the risk outweighed the advantages, so he wanted to find another way.


    Verte''s sacrifice granted him another chance, so if he wasted it, he would be no better than Rudeus.


    After all, no matter how he looked at it, Verte was just an innocent person who wanted to live. However, she decided to use her life in exchange for a miracle.


    "It''s useless." Rudeus said, looking at Adam who showed unwavering determination on his face.


    "Who are you to decide that?" Adam replied.


    However, the Lord didn''t refer to Adam''s struggle but to something else. "The way you are now, you won''t achieve anything. Throw away your feelings, or you will regret it."


    "Man, I don''t know what happened to you, but I won''t be like you just because of this," Adam answered.


    "You clearly don''t understand anything at all." Rudeus squinted his eyes as if he scorned Adam.


    For some reason, Rudeus could manage to contain himself and wasn''t consumed by anger, and this was thanks to Adam''s power.


    This was the reason why he was still able to hold a conversation with Adam, but both of them weren''t aware of such a detail.


    "Just shut up, I didn''t forget what you did. You will pay!" Adam said and leaped toward Rudeus once again.


    Rudeus was powerful, but Adam just needed one opportunity, one strike, and the battle would be over.


    After all, Rudeus would be able to materialize the shadow that destroyed Cristal again if Adam deactivated his power, however, if he wanted to win against the Lord, he needed to use the antimatter.


    But when Adam use the antimatter the area covered by his power was reduced to one percent and so he needed to hit his target. Still, he couldn''t control the antimatter at will, so he could only use it for a few seconds at best, and if the Lord managed to block his attack, it would be over for him.


    Nevertheless, Adam couldn''t just wait for such a thing to happen, since the more the battle prolonged the more advantageous Rudeus became.


    Boom!


    The two of them continued to exchange blows without holding back.


    Adam''s body was covered with wounds again, as Rudeus''s attack hit and sent him crashing into the walls, pirs, the ceiling, and mming on the ground.


    Boom!


    However, Adam got up again.


    For some reason, Rudeus didn''t use any weapon, even though he could finish Adam quickly if he did that. It was as if he was hesitating to kill Adam.


    Adam didn''t know about it, but his power was useful in many ways.


    And more importantly, it was not apparent but like Rudeus, the more Adam used his power, the more the corruption that he absorbed affected him, little by little, even if his power nullified most of it.


    At first, he thought that he was locking his emotions away voluntarily, and so he could be cool-headed in front of the situation, but part of it was abnormal.


    He was too calm...

 Chapter 74 Rudeus (Part 2)

    ''Rudeus!''


    ''Rudeus!''


    ''Rudeus!''


    "Who is there?" Rudeus woke up from his long slumber and stood up abruptly, but when he looked around the dark cave where he isted himself, he understood that he was alone and he only heard his wife''s voice calling him inside of his dream, and although his emotions were messed up, he reacted instinctively.


    However, when he went outside to hunt like he usually did, he suddenly rushed home!


    He moved at an insane speed, jumping over trees, swimming like a fish inkes, climbing mountains like a goat, but he didn''t stop even for a second.


    "Rita! Vivian!"


    There was no mistaking it, that dark miasma that spread everywhere was not something that should exist in this world, and Rudeus knew that.


    His wife and his daughter were his most precious treasures, and even when people made him their Lord, giving him so much power and influence in his world, Rudeus didn''t even hesitate to discard all of that to protect his wife and daughter.


    Unfortunately, he wasn''t the only threat to his family, and as soon as he understood that, he knew that he missed something important.


    And he was toote. "No¡­ No¡­ This can''t be¡­"


    The dark miasma affected the newborn babies first, and then older children too.


    The horror was about to begin and no one could stop it.


    After he saw his daughter''s dead body, Rudeuspletely lost control of his emotions and went on a rampage.


    And that was just the beginning.


    Cries of anguish echoed throughout thends as parents saw these children die one by one, without understanding the cause, andpletely powerless.


    "What''s happening? What is this?"


    "This is the end!"


    "The Gods had forsaken this world!"


    Despair spread like a gue and people were desperate for answers, a way to escape this reality, and chaos reigned, giving birth to dangerous sects who began spreading lies about how sacrifices were needed to appease the Gods'' wrath.


    Despite the horrendous circumstances, people still began to fight against each other, factions against factions, country against another country, as they doubted each other and fear controlled their minds.


    War began to destroy the mutual peace that was established by Rudeus''s victory and there was no stopping it.


    And Rudeus''s misery continued to grow. "Why is this happening, what is this?"


    He wasn''t aware of it but after he left, his wife had already struggled with depression, and after their daughter died and Rudeus went on a rampage, her mental health worsened and shemitted suicide.


    "Hahaha! Hahahahahahahaha! Hahahahaha!"


    Rudeusughed, heughed, heughed¡­ He didn''t cry, he justughed, but his eyes didn''tugh.


    He buried his wife next to his daughter and he looked at the sky and a pitiful smile appeared on his face.


    He realized that he waspletely broken.


    The world wasing to end before his eyes but he didn''t feel anything.


    Portals materialized everywhere and monsters that were hundreds, even thousands of times more powerful than the minotaur appeared.


    "What is this?" These were thest words that he could mutter before the end.


    *****


    Adam and Rudeus''s fight continued, but as time passed, both of them felt like their actions were meaningless.


    Rudeus wanted to take back everything that was taken from him and Adam wanted to protect his life and the people that were important to him.


    At that moment, both of them were ready to do anything for the same of their goal, and both of them believed that they were doing the right, or at least they convinced themselves that it was the case.


    "I knew it, you will be consumed." Rudeus said, blocking Adam''s first with his palm.


    From the look of it, Adam reminded him of his past self, ignorant and desperate, unable to find the answer to all of his questions.


    The corruption had already overtaken Adam''s mind, and he began to change, not only in the way he fought which had be more aggressive but also


    in the way he felt.


    For a while now, Adam had forgotten about Cristal, and also about Liu and Zax.


    At first, it was just because he was focused on the fight, but Rudeus noticed the changes in Adam''s behavior.


    "Tch! Stop babbling nonsense, I will crush you here so that something like this won''t happen again." Adam shouted. Then he stepped back and thought about his next move.<sub> </sub>


    Their fight felt like it went on for hours, but in reality, only a few minutes had passed. However, Adam could already feel the damage umting and his strength draining very fast, and that was not good, because once again he was tempted to absorb more corruption.


    Corruption was the easiest way to increase one''s strength, and Adam experienced this firsthand, however, he wasn''t aware of the consequences.


    "You can still choose to stop, so stop now. Else, you will regret it." Rudeus said, looking at Adam as if he was looking at an old friend.


    They exchanged blows for a few minutes but it was as if Rudeus could feel Adam''s pain and the chaos inside of him, and it was to be expected as long as someone sought to follow the path of power.


    "The more you acquire more power to protect, the more you need to distance yourself from the one you want to protect. Everything has a price, and you can''t have both. So if you don''t stop now, you will have to bear the consequences." Rudeus told Adam as if he was educating him about life.


    "¡­ It doesn''t change the fact that I will destroy you and get out of her," Adam answered.


    Of course, Rudeus''s behavior was extremely puzzling, after all, he was supposed to be the final boss that Adam had to y to save Liu.


    Still, the fact that he didn''t pull his punches also meant that his determination was real, even though he hesitated. He hoped that Adam would just surrender before it was toote, but for the sake of his goal, he didn''t have the choice but to kill him.


    Their fight continued once again, as they started again exchanging fists and kicks at a very high speed, to the point that afterimages of their movements appeared around the room.


    Swoosh!


    Swoosh!


    Boom!


    However, it was Adam who crashed into the wall, the ceiling, and the ground, almost every second, but just after that,  he stood up and charged at Rudeus.


    Swoosh!


    Adam emerged from the rubble again after he was sent flying by Rudeus''s punch.


    He believed that he couldn''t let Rudeus use his power, so he had to keep him within the range of his power.


    Using his power of nullification while fighting, taking damage, and thinking about his next move was extremely taxing, but it was clear that he needed more than just his fist if he wanted to beat Rudeus.


    ''The sma sword. But that won''t be enough¡­ Something that can finish him with one hit.''  Adam thought to himself.


    The antimatter was powerful, but it was too unstable, and Rudeus wasn''t a fool; Adam knew that even if Rudeus talked like he was lecturing him, he felt killing intent in his punches. It was as if he was warning Adam, and telling him to give up.


    "This power is nothing but a curse. Soon, you will understand. That is if you can get out of here alive, and keep your sanity long enough to realize your mistake." Rudeus said as if he was talking about his experience.


    At that time, another thought, or to be precise, a shback appeared inside Rudeus''s mind.


    *****


    ''Rudeus!''


    ''Rudeus!''


    Upon hearing a voice calling his name, Rudeus opened his eyes.


    After the portals opened, his world was engulfed by chaos and corruption, and the years that followed that incident were full of pain and misery.


    Countless people lost their lives, devoured by monsters, their bodies were torn apart violently, and those who were lucky enough to not die had to witness that madness driving them insane, to the point that they killed themselves.


    After all, only a monster could feel nothing faced with such atrocities, yes a monster, like what Rudeus had be.


    He saw his friends, the people he know dying one by one in every painful way possible, full of agony.


    Rudeus continued to swing his sword, again, and again, and again, but the monsters didn''t decrease, and his action didn''t change anything.


    In the end, he was the only one left¡­ Alone in a world devastated by monsters, continuing to fight day and night.


    At some point, he stopped thinking, forgetting everything, his pain, his sorrow, and surrendered himself to his urge to destroy.


    "Aaaaaaaa!"


    Rudeus had be the thing that he feared he would be, but in the end, no one was there to bring him back.


    At least, until he heard a voice deep inside of his consciousness.


    "Rudeus!"


    "Wh-who¡­is¡­there?"


    He was already gone, his consciousness was more or less dead, but this voice brought him back to his senses.


    "I will give you time. Time to take everything back by yourself." The mysterious person that appeared in front of him said.


    Rudeus was given time, or more precisely, a fragment of the tree of life that gave him an authority rted to time.


    From that moment onward, Rudeus could steal time from everything he touched and could also do the opposite, in other words, give back the time he stole.

 Chapter 75 Rudeus (Part 3)

    Rudeus was thinking about various things while fighting against Adam because, for some reason, his mind was a bit clearer.


    If he didn''t absorb the corruption, what would have happened? In the end, weren''t their world doomed to be annihted? So why did that person decide to help him out of nowhere?


    That being could be considered a God, and Rudeus knew that even with all of his power, he wouldn''t be able toy a finger on that being. So why?


    Rudeus couldn''t understand what the person meant when they said: "Find the other fragments and you will be able to make your wishe true."


    At first, he thought that such a thing was easy with his newly found power, but a millennium had passed and he couldn''t even get his hand on one of these tree fragments.


    He thought that these fragments existed in his world, and so he decided to search for a tree that looked mystical around the, but he never found such a thing.


    There was no hint, there was nothing, and he was alone again. Until the day someone appeared in front of him and tried to kill him, saying that he also needed the fragments of the tree of life to save their world.


    These people were as determined as he was, to the point that he didn''t have the choice but to kill them.


    That was when Rudeus thought something was not right, because as time passed, more desperate people kept appearing, and all of them were broken and sought more power.


    At first, he wondered how these people found him, and where they came from, but by meeting these people, he obtained some way to localize the tree fragments and even used the monsters to his advantage to find the fragments of the tree of life, after all, some high-level monsters were attracted to these fragments.


    Then Rudeus realized that he had to kill many people to find the tree fragments, destroy cities, and spread corruption everywhere he went, after all, when people saw him and his subordinates, they would never believe that they came there to talk peacefully.


    However, Rudeus wanted his daughter back, so he discarded all of his doubts and set his eyes solely on his goal.


    But when he sat alone on his throne as if he was meditating, his mind became a little bit clearer and various thoughts appeared inside his mind. "What if I manage to bring everything back to the way it was?"


    Because, even if he managed to bring things back to how they were, it didn''t mean that monsters would disappearpletely, or that he would be normal again, because the more powerful he had be, the more everything that made him human continued to disappear.


    At that time Rudeus realized something:  ''There will be no end to this cycle of suffering, and he was just a piece of chess in a huge n on a universal scale.''


    After all, if he obtained the Tree''s fragments, how many other worlds would be destroyed?


    Even if he tried to save them all, would he even be able to live a peaceful life again?


    He didn''t know what would happen if he managed to find two more fragments of the Tree of life, but he knew that things wouldn''t end there.


    He took notice of something greater, moreplex than he could ever imagine in all of this.


    He thought it might be just his imagination but Liu''s and Verte''s arrival confirmed his doubt, and thanks to the effect of Adam''s power, he could collect his thoughts and analyze what was happening more rationally.


    He had always wondered about the true nature of the Tree of life, but after seeing Verte, he became sure of it. These fragments could be the origin of all things and also the end.


    Rudeus''s guess wasn''tpletely off, but he didn''t even touch the tip of the iceberg.


    And it was not surprising, because even now, many people believe that they were in control and they understood everything about the universe, but little did they know that there was nothing but a speck of dust despite everything they had achieved and their overwhelming power.


    They were all just ying their parts because The One Who Knows All made sure that they do.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    ''There must be a way to finish this in one attack.'' I thought, because the more the fight continued, the more I was at a disadvantage.


    This guy was just too powerful, and that was even if he didn''t use his power.


    "Tch! What are trying to achieve by telling me all of that?" I asked.


    The guy had been spouting a lot of nonsense for a while now, and I didn''t know what he was trying to do.


    It was as if he was lost in his thoughts while fighting me, and didn''t take the fight seriously at all.


    "I realize now, so all this was not about what''s right or what''s wrong. I see so that''s how it is." The guy said, and his words didn''t make any sense to me at all.


    However, I was not about to let my guard down just because my enemy seemed disoriented, and even if he was like this, I couldn''t evennd one punch on this guy.


    The most probable way for me to win was to hit him with an attack that he couldn''t defend against, and that he didn''t expect. Also, the timing must be perfect so that he couldn''t avoid it. ''But how can I do that?''


    If I ran out of power, then the guy would be able to use that power that he used on Liu. Furthermore, I believed that it was not the full extent of his power, so I couldn''t let him have an opportunity to use it.


    "Did you finally realize that you are a psychopath?" I said, tempting him as Iunched a series of attacks at him as fast as I could.


    Shoosh!


    I aimed for his blind spots, but he managed to block all of my punches and kicks and then retaliated.<sub> </sub>


    Thud!


    I managed to avoid one of his punches by docking, and I wanted to quickly switch my position and punch him on the side, but before I knew it, he had already kicked me in the chest.


    "Kuh!"


    Then, he grabbed my leg and mmed me to the ground.


    Boom!


    Then he lifted me in the air, and before I fell back down to the ground, he punched me in the stomach, with so much force that I could feel my interior beingpressed.


    "Gah!"


    Boom!


    I didn''t know what happened after that, because before I knew it, I was already buried under a lot of debris.


    "Cough! Cough!"


    I coughed a mouthful of blood as I rose from the rubble, and honestly, I just wanted to get out of there.


    ''If only I could use that power into something simr to the sma sword.'' I thought.


    I thought that I would be able to use another form of my power after Verte''s sacrifice but things weren''t always that easy.


    "Have you also met that person? Did they also promise you that your wish wille true?" The guy asked, looking at me as if he didn''t do anything wrong.


    He was looking down on me, knowing that he had an advantage when it came to hand-on-hand fighting.


    "Don''t think that everyone is the same as you. Just because you were scammed by someone doesn''t mean that everyone can rte with you!" I tried to continue talking to him, waiting for the perfect opportunity to materialize that power again.


    I only had one chance, because I didn''t want to absorb that unknown energy anymore, I felt like it was messing up with my body.


    "Look at your woman! If it weren''t for that thing that she carried with her, she wouldn''t have to go through all of that, and you wouldn''t be here." The guy said.


    "Don''t you dare talk about her! All of this is your fault!" I said as I leaped forward once again.


    It seemed like the guy had let his guard down, so this was the perfect opportunity to finish this. I made sure that I attacked him with the same attack pattern, again and again, making him believe that I had no other trump cards, and I was desperate. Unfortunately, I was desperate, but I had another trump card.


    "If it weren''t for the fragments of the Tree of life, all of this wouldn''t have happened. Is this a coincidence?"


    I didn''t hear what he was saying anymore, but I was sure that this guy must be very lonely, or extremely delusional.


    His actions were inconsistent, and he kept saying things that were not rted to our fight at all. ''What happened to him? What are his true goals by doing all of this?''


    *****


    Boom!


    Zax regained consciousness during Adam and Rudeus''s fight.


    She was still in an extreme state of shock, and her mind was not still clear enough to process what was happening around her.


    And when she looked around¡­.


    "No, no, no¡­ This is a dream¡­ This is a dream!"


    ¡­ The cold reality hit her when it hurt, again. She hoped that Liu''s situation was just a bad dream, and she strongly denied what she was seeing, to the point that she passed out.


    But when she woke up again, the reality was still the same.


    The shockwave created by the fight shook the whole ce, and debris from the ceiling fell to the ground.


    Zax dragged Liu with her little hand, as she avoided the falling debris, and she couldn''t stop her tears.


    "Adam¡­" She looked at Adam being beaten up by Rudeus, and the feeling of despair in her heart began to grow stronger.


    Of all people there, it was Zax who was the most ignorant of the circumstances, and everything was too much for her heart to bear.


    She was on the verge of breaking down¡­

 Chapter 76 Power

    Swoosh!


    Adam got closer to Rudeus, intending to finish the fight with one decisive attack.


    Rudeus seemed like he was not entirely focused on the battle and Adam took advantage of that by making him think that he had no other trump cards on hand and that he was desperate.


    However, Rudeus knew that Adam was not a normal person and he was wary of him. After all, he just absorbed a fragment of the tree of life but didn''t manifest any kind of power yet, even though such a thing might change the tide of the battle to Adam''s advantage.


    Adam''s aim was to make sure that Rudeus blocked his attack and didn''t avoid it.


    When Adam got close to Rudeus, he used his foot to attack him with a low kick.


    Even Rudeus didn''t expect such an attack and he just blocked it with his knee.


    Thud!


    Seeing that Rudeus blocked his kick, Adam twisted his body, using his other foot as a pivotal point, then with his momentum, he threw a high kick but Rudeus blocked it too.


    Thud!


    Adam was not a master when ites to martial arts so his moves were predictable. However, he tried to take advantage of his situation by making his attack patterns predictable, but just once, he needed to make sure that even if Rudeus blocked his attack, Rudeus would still die.


    Adam was waiting for Rudeus to get used to his attack patterns and for him to predict that he would use his trump card after a while, in other words, he wanted Rudeus to think that he was waiting for a chance to take him by surprise.


    But instead of changing it, Adam continued using the same pattern, making Rudeus wonder when he was going to use a trump card, but in reality, his trump card wouldy in his normal attack.


    Nevertheless, it was a big gamble on Adam''s part, after all, he wasn''t even sure that he would be able to use the antimatter again when he needed to use it, in other words, he wasn''t sure if he could manage to coordinate his attacks and wouldn''t miss the opportunity to kill Rudeus with one hit.


    Adam continued to attack Rudeus with predictable attack patterns until suddenly he leaped towards him but stopped midway.


    Swoosh!


    Rudeus was puzzled by Adam''s action and wondered if he was about to use his trump card.


    Rudeus was taller and bigger than Adam, so Adam had to kick the ground and jumped forward every time he tried to attack Rudeus, so when he suddenly stopped in mid-air, Rudeus instinctively strengthened his defense, thinking that Adam was about to attack him with some kind of powerful charge.


    However, after that weird pause, nothing happened and Adam continued with his predictable attack patterns.


    ''What was that?'' Rudeus wondered. He didn''t know why Adam was so weak despite him having two fragments of the Tree of life.


    Moreover, Rudeus himself was confused by his actions, as if his body was trying to kill Adam, but his mind was trying to think about what was happening.


    However, that moment when he let his guard down, was when Adam used his trump card concealed in his attack patterns.


    Despite how their fight looked, it was a fight between two powerful beings.


    Adam''s body was now more or less upgraded, and his strength and durability increased, but it was just that Rudeus was too strong and experienced.


    But on the other hand, Adam''s power could temporarily weaken Rudeus''s abilities, so he couldn''t use the full potential of his gift to move instantly or steal time from Adam.


    It was not like he couldn''t do itpletely, but for some reason, even though both of their power were authorities, it took too much time to overwhelm Adam''s power. Probably, because his power was on a higher level of existence.


    If it weren''t for these conditions, the fight would have already ended a long ago.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    ''Now!''


    After that feint, I continued to use the same attack patterns again, and it seemed like the guy was surprised.


    He probably thought about many theories, but it seemed like he didn''t catch up to my intention. After all, it was so simple, but I just needed one trump card, yes, just one unstoppable strike.


    He was about to block my attack as he did with all of my previous attacks, without doubting anything.


    ''It seems like it worked.'' I thought.


    I took advantage of my weakness to conceal my final trump card.


    I gathered all of the primordial particles inside my body and in my surroundings around my fist. My power of nullification wasn''t active anymore, but I just needed a split second.


    Swoosh!


    "You were close¡­"


    "Wha-?"


    The power that could destroy anything appeared on my fist and I hit the guy with it while he was blocking my attack with his arm, but suddenly, he disappeared and appeared behind me.<sub> </sub>


    It seemed like I missed something¡­


    "Tch!" I clicked my tongue, feeling that thisst attack drained almost all of my strength but didn''t manage to kill him.


    I activated my power of nullification again as I turned and looked at him. ''This is bad. What should I do from here? I need another n.''


    For some reason, I was calm, even though I was in a very desperate situation. I felt like I would be able to deal with the situation.


    I didn''t know when I became such an optimist, but it felt really weird¡­ I felt like my body was moving instinctively and I wanted to fight more. ''What is this?''


    It felt like I was forgetting something¡­


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    Thick red blood dropped on the ground,ing from Rudeus''s arm after his hand was severed by the antimatter.


    He had almost died if he didn''t use his gift in time and managed to avoid Adam''s fist.


    Despite his injury, he didn''t have a pained look on his face, and instead, he looked at Adam.


    "You seem to be different. How did you obtain that power?" Rudeus asked.


    After all, Adam was young and inexperienced, so the fact that he had a power that could rival Rudeus''s, or even more powerful, was extremely weird.


    "You don''t need to know," Adam replied, looking at Rudeus with eyes full of killing intent.


    Adam didn''t care about Rudeus''s words at all and focused on finding a way to beat him instead.


    His attempt to kill Rudeus with one hit failed because he didn''t know the nature of Rudeus''s gift.


    On the other hand, Rudeus was more and more confused by what was happening. He thought that he had seen through that person''s n, but after seeing Adam, he began to question everything that he did until that point.


    *****


    "Llla. Mm! Mmm!"


    While Adam and Rudeus fought, an existence was looking at them, then walked toward Zax and Liu, without anyone noticing as if he was nothing but the air.


    "Who are you?" Zax asked, looking at this person when they suddenly appeared in front of her. For some reason, she wasn''t even surprised, and the chaotic emotions suddenly settled down.


    "Your death may bring another variable to the equation, but I don''t think it would be necessary." The person said.


    Zax looked at their face but her brain couldn''te up with a proper image that could match the thing that she saw. She felt like the face continued to change, sometimes a woman, sometimes a man, but when she looked at it, she didn''t feel that it was strange, and her brain was convinced that it was normal for it to look like that.


    "As for her, I think she is an important piece." The thing said, looking at Liu.


    Zax didn''t understand what was happening, but before she knew it, she was already inside a dream where she was living a happy life with her mother, in a beautiful house next to ake.


    She didn''t even remember when she closed her eyes, or when she fell asleep, but the dream was almost indistinguishable from reality.


    "Enjoy it." The existence said, standing next to her inside the dream.


    Then she ran, forgetting about everything, she didn''t care if it was a dream or an illusion, but she ran to her mother''s arms.


    "Mooom!" She shouted in tears, as her mother held her tightly in her arms.


    The being looked at them and then disappeared.


    "Ll."


    It was a thing, a person, a being, a presence that was hidden, mysterious, iprehensible, and even though humans were already in front of it, looking at it, living with it, they could never understand its true nature.


    A God? a monster? No one knew what was the real nature of this thing, nor did they know about its existence.


    [Hey! Don''t look at me like that. All you do is just observe, so at least try to not be biased.]


    ¡­


    [As long as you don''t interfere with me, I won''t interfere with your little hobby.]


    ¡­


    "Ll. L... Mmmm... Mmmm..."

 Chapter 77 Power (Part 2)

    "That person, that being, he might be behind all of this." Rudeus said, looking at Adam with serious eyes.


    If it weren''t for the situation, one would believe that these two were old friends working hard to find their nemesis, after listening to Rudeus''s words.


    However, Adam was not attentive to Rudeus''s words as he didn''t even know what Rudeus was talking about. Moreover, the fact that Rudeus talked to him irritated him, after all, Rudeus was supposed to be a heartless viin devoid of human nature, or so Adam believed, looking at what he did to Liu.


    But now, Rudeus looked more like a disoriented person than a viin. Still, it might be one of the facets of his personality, and deep inside he is a bloodthirsty monster.


    "What are you even talking about? Are you going to kill me or not? Because if not, can you just let us go?" Adam said, trying to provoke Rudeus.


    Rudeus looked at Adam and pondered for a while before replying.


    ''Did he really consider it?'' Adam thought. ''He seems like he is bing a different person. What''s the deal with him?''


    "I can''t do that¡­ I am sure of nothing." Rudeus said.


    If he let Adam go now, and turned out that he let his only chance to obtain two fragments go, he would probably regret itter, or so Rudeus thought.


    There was nothing concrete about the reason why Adam and Rudeus were fighting, but both of them knew that they couldn''t let the other one go.


    There was a feeling of doubt in their heart, but for their goal, they couldn''t let the other one win.


    Nevertheless, they felt like something was not right, as if there were too many coincidences leading up to this moment.


    "I feel like I was manipted, but no matter how I looked at the situation, the benefits were worth the sacrifices. I will get everything back, my world, my family, everything. But how? If I managed to collect all of the fragments, what would happen? Moreover, such a thing wouldn''t bring anything to that person. Did they help me out of kindness?" Rudeus said as if he was thinking out loud.


    After spending a long time alone inside of his castle, Rudeus began to think about what happened on that day, but no matter how much he pondered about it, his thoughts were always messed up, but now, he could finally gather all of his thoughts, ande up with a conclusion, only after meeting Adam.


    "How the hell should I know? Anyway, you have gone too far, it''s toote to go back now!" Adam shouted, and leaped towards Rudeus once again.


    Rudeus didn''t miraculously grow another arm, but even so, he could keep up with Adam and block all of his attacks.


    Thud!


    After that, Rudeus used kicks more often to retaliate, and they were as powerful as before.


    Boom!


    The whole castle was made of strong materials, but even these materials couldn''t handle the shock created by the fight and started to crumble.


    Still, Rudeus felt like Adam was limiting his potential and something restricted him, but he didn''t know what or why. Maybe it was just because he was ignorant andcked experience, but from his power alone, Rudeus could tell that Adam''s background was not that simple.


    Each of Rudeus''s attacks was powerful enough to kill a level 7 gift holder instantly, but Adam managed to take a couple of hundreds of hits from him, but still stood up.


    Moreover, Adam kept telling himself that his strength had decreased, but Rudeus knew that the power of his attacks was still the same.


    "Why are you limiting your growth? Are you scared to die?" Rudeus said, looking at Adam with puzzled eyes.


    "What? What are you talking about dude? Are you telling me to show you my full strength so that you can say: ''Finally, It''s time to take this seriously or some bullish like that?" Adam answered, and he was quite surprised by Rudeus''s words despite what he said.


    Of course, Rudeus didn''t understand what Adam was saying. "Well, your woman''s time is counted." So he just a few words that made Adam react.


    "Bastard!" Adam shouted.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    ''I am limiting my growth? What is this dude talking about?''


    I didn''t like his attitude, looking like he was thinking about something extremely deep while fighting, and then talking about nonsense while sounding extremely serious.


    I thought that he would try to kill me without saying anything and that our flight would be extremely violent, but the dude in front of me was different from how I pictured him.


    He was huge, and his look was imposing, with that ck cape and dark skin along with the ripped muscles.<sub> </sub>


    ''Tch, is he one of these monsters who like ying with his prey and try to break them mentally before torturing them? No matter how I look at it, he is not normal.''


    However, I thought about what he said, without taking my eyes off of him, even a minute.


    For some reason, he never attacked me unless attacked him first, making me look like I am being yed with. ''Tch, this is the worst. Even though there is no time.''


    I believed that he did this intentionally to make me feel desperate and lose my cool.


    I circled him slowly, as if trying to figure out my next move, but from the look of it, beating him with one hit I thought would be difficult.


    Every time I deactivated my power of nullification, he managed to use that ability to move instantly from one ce to another, which was a pain.


    I thought that it was just because of his physical strength, but it seemed like he had another hidden card.


    ''Limiting my growth, huh?''


    Was he trying to tell me that I should use that power without holding back? Was he trying to stir up my pride so that I would make a mistake? If so, he was extremely maniptive. He even used Liu to ignite my anger so that I would lose control.


    But¡­


    When I thought about it, I felt like even though his intentions were not good, his words made me think about something.


    Up until now, I only used my power to destroy things, and I never used it to create anything.


    I was thinking about the reason why I couldn''t use my full power, and Cristal said that it was because my body was too weak to handle it.


    That meant that I could use the power of creation, but I just didn''t know how to do it.


    ''I need to think¡­ This might be the key to winning this fight and saving Liu.''


    From what Cristal said, the power of Destruction was constantly active inside my body, protecting my soul from being crushed.


    I didn''t even know how that worked, but I believed that the threat that this power was protecting me from didn''te only from this world but another dimension. ''It was only for a few moments but I perceived it when Verte fused with me.''


    Then, as soon as Verte went to that ce, I couldn''t feel her presence anymore. So in theory, all of my supposed godly power is inside that ce, and it my power of nullification was the only thing that prevented me from essing my full power. ''How strong is my power of Destruction anyway. And how much power do I constantly use without me noticing to keep it active.''


    But if I released all of that in one go, my body wouldn''t be able to hold it and I would probably die on the spot, and now understood why. ''It was not a matter of bing a level 10 gift holder, or something as insignificant as that, it was about creating a whole universe, or destroying it.''


    Of course, all of that was just my theory, but I was more powerful than I expected. ''Limiting my own growth, huh? Maybe he wasn''t wrong¡­''


    All I had to do now was to open that gate somewhere inside my body and bring Verte''s power back, giving me ess to another form of power other than nullification.


    It sounded extremely easy, but I couldn''t even imagine how having another form of power inside of my body felt.


    ''If the first ce, I don''t even know how to open that gate. Well, if I mess this up, I may actually die.''


    ******


    "Ll. Lla."


    The existence walked around the room, but Rudeus and Adam couldn''t even take notice of his presence.


    "Your job is not over yet." The existence said, picking up Cristal''s core. "This Adam should not stray from the path I set for him."


    The existence was behind that record¨C


    [Can you not interfere with me? And stop depicting me as a viin, we both know that all of this is for Adam''s sake.]


    p ...</anda>


    [Don''t look at me like that, we had agreed on this.]

 Chapter 78 Adam

    [The year 2000: Earth, UM Headquarters.]


    Tap! Tap! Tap!


    "Are you really sure about this, professor Greive?" A man wearing a whiteb coat directed his question at the man standing beside him as he looked atplex patterns that appeared on the screen of theputer in front of him because he was about to initiate a dangerous defrosting process.


    "Do it. Doubts won''t change the course of things." Greive said. "But that thing can¡­"


    The UM, which stood for Unknown Matters was one of the few International organizations where humanity worked together for the sake of their own survival.


    This organization dealt with things that were beyond humans'' knowledge, such as foreign technologies, parallel worlds, and unidentified substances and matters that appeared on Earth.


    The existence of this organization was highly top secret, and even among those who were at the top, only those who controlled the world from the shadow were informed about the experimentations conducted there, as well as the results of these experimentations; information that would never be disclosed to the public.


    "You know that they will also go after our family and our rtives if they found out about this, right?" The man wearing a whiteb coat looked at Greive.


    "Are you saying that you have a family?"


    "Well, no."


    "Me too. I broke up with my lover and abandoned my newborn son. After all, the day we came here, we stopped being normal. If people knew what we''ve been doing here, they would look at us as if we were monsters, so doctor Coulson, why don''t we do one good thing before we die?" Greive said, cing his hand on Coulson''s shoulder.


    "Haha. Well, this is a thriller!" Coulson said and hit a single red button on the console.


    [ess authorized: Launching the project A.D.A.M.]


    Coulson and Greive looked at the huge tube filled with nitrogen being dried out and something appeared in the middle of the tube.


    "Is that it?" Coulson asked.


    "Yes. Let''s retrieve it quickly, we don''t have much time." Greive said, hurrying up and taking a portable container.


    "That''s just a fruit, right? A fruit, that has a golden color. Is that the most important project in this organization?" Coulson said, looking at Greive with eyes full of doubts.


    Coulson was recently promoted to his new post so he wasn''t aware of some information even if he was a member of the UM.


    "Thanks for your help, Coulson," Greive said, as he exchanged the golden fruit with a dummy one. "But, that was the easiest part, and we still need to get out of here."


    "Yeah, you are right. They must have already found out about what was happening." Coulson said. "Well, this is the end of the line for me, so I will hold them as long as I can. Now, go save the world, or should I say the universe. Sounds like we are inside a movie." Coulson said, handing a rectangr metallic object to Greive.


    "I believe that we will meet again my friend, somewhere, someday¡­" Greive said.


    The metallic object that Coulson handed over to Greive was an armor made with nanotechnology, something that normal people living on Earth believed unimaginable.


    Greive ced the metallic object on his chest and then it expanded, covering his body and turning into an armor.


    "Don''t forget it, you only have one chance," Coulson said.


    "I know."


    Greive ced the container on his back, which attached itself to the armor, then rose to the ceiling.


    After that, red dots appeared on his armor, covering his entire body, and as if the ceiling was made of stic, it melted and Greive passed through it.


    The headquarters of the UM was situated deep underground, and also under the ocean, a ce that wasn''t easily essible.


    Consequently, there was only one entrance and one exit.


    Coulson looked at Greive taking off, and then observed the most protected room of the UM headquarters.


    There was no one alive inside of it, but there were fifty or so dead bodies, killed with an odorless and colorless poison, created by Coulson himself.


    Both Coulson and Greive were geniuses and their talents were highly acimed by the people at the top, but what they just did was considered high-level treason.


    "You are proud of me now, aren''t you mom?" Coulson said, then killed himself with his own poison before the door was breached.


    Boom! Boom!


    Dozens of armed droids entered the room, followed by some important-looking people.


    "Greive, Greive, Greive¡­ I thought he was a man with a vision." Another man wearing ab coat said, picking the dummy fruit and then throwing it to the ground and crushing it with his foot. He was a middle-aged man who had a haughty look on his face, with his silver beard and carefullybed silver hair.


    "Such foolishness. Bring him to my office in one hour." The man said, looking at the men wearing different kinds of military uniforms of different countries that came inside the room with him.<sub> </sub>


    "Roger!"


    However, they weren''t aware of Greive and Coulson''s real n, and the fact that Greive was just trying to buy time.


    Greive tried to reach the only path that connect the headquarters with the surface. His suit was the result of his research rted to more advanced technology from another world, information that he didn''t disclose to anyone else.


    [Master, the probability of sess is close to none. Are you sure that you want to proceed with this n?]


    "Yes, Cristal, we need to lure them and trick them into thinking that I have the item," Greive answered to the AI that was installed inside of his armor.


    Unfortunately, before Greive could reach the main path, the enemy had already spotted him.


    [Turn right, and go straight for twenty meters before turning left.]


    Crystal continued to navigate Greive''s movement to avoid the pursuer, but as time passed, it became harder and harder to lose these droids.


    These droids were made of nanotechnology too, so they were polymorph and could go fit anywhere.


    "We need more time," Greive said.


    He never wanted to run away from the beginning, as if he knew that he would never be able to hide from these people as long as he was on Earth.


    But suddenly¡­


    "Huh? Where is this?" Greive was confused and looked around after a huge castle appeared in front of him.


    "Would you like to have some tea?"


    A voice came from behind Greive and when he turned around, he saw an existence sitting on a table and pouring some tea inside a cup.


    "Wh-"


    Before Greive could say anything, he was already sitting on one of the chairs, holding a cup in his hand, and his face was uncovered. The container that he brought with him was already on the table, and the metallic object that turned into his armor was next to it.


    "What you just did changed everything. All of the pieces needed to give birth to the one who will save the world are now gathered together. Even I can only wait for such a miracle to happen despite all. Now, you must finish your work." The existence said.


    Dumbfounded couldn''t even describe Greive''s reaction, so he wasn''t even listening to the existence''s words.


    He never brought that ''item'' with him, and instead, he used one of his most recent inventions to teleport it to a very specific location, where a mother was living alone with her son.


    The little boy was so happy to receive a cool-looking gift for his birthday, but his mother tried to take it from him, however, after inspecting the object, his mother didn''t find anything weird with it, and just thought that it was a toy, sent by a rtive.


    But when the boy was ying with this so-called toy, it sparkled and a mysterious golden fruit appeared magically.


    He was only a kid who watched too many cartoons, so instead of calling his mother, he ate the fruit, and it tasted good so he didn''t stop.


    No one knew what happened on that day, and the mother never read the letter from Greive that came with the weird object.


    After that, the boy told the story to his mother, his friends, and his ssmates, but people began to get concerned about his mental health, and he became an outcast. And as he grew up, he began to think that all of that was just his imagination when he was a kid.


    "That''s what happened after you left that world." The existence said, after telling the story to Greive.


    "What? Mark? What happened to him?" Greive said.


    "You still have the chance to redeem for your mistakes, as a father. Can you see that little boy? He is the reincarnation of your son. So, do you want to make a deal with me?"


    "A deal?" Greive asked, looking as if everything that the existence said.


    "So you know, you were about to die before I brought you here, but I will give you 10 years more to live, and all you have to do is to watch over your son. To be precise, you just need to make sure that he grows up while following the right path. Yes, the right path."


    "Is he really my son?" Grieve looked at the existence with puzzled eyes.


    "There are various things that you need to take into ount, now that he has reincarnated, but yes, he is Mark. So do we have a deal?"


    "Y¡­yes, I guess," Greive said, looking like he didn''t really have that much choice.


    After that, the existence made sure that Pride followed Greive''s words, knowing that he was Adam''s father. However, Adam himself didn''t know anything about this, as instructed by the existence.


    What Adam ate was The Fruit of Life, the origin of Good and Bad, Creation and Destruction, Life and Death.

 Chapter 79 Adam (Part 2)

    "Sugar?"


    "Yes¡­ Please." Greive said, with a face that made him look ten years older than his actual age, as he looked at the Existence in front I him refilling his cup with tea.


    Talking with the Existence who dragged him to another world made him feel like he was just a speck of dust and he felt his soul being sucked out of his body,  and that was just after hearing about the existence of the God of Void and the God of Creation, as well as the primordial particles.


    Greive took a sip from his cup and enjoyed tea more than he ever did before.


    "But why do you need me to be involved in all of this, sir?" Greive asked, looking at the being in front of him who might as well have been God for all he knew. ''Why did God need the help of a mere human?'' He thought.


    As a human, he tried to save humanity from those who controlled the Earth from the shadow. Countless heroes who were in the same position perished every day while protecting those who were ignorant but no one remembered them.


    This time too, Greive was just one of those who decided that those who were the ignorance deserved to choose before the project A.D.A.M took ce, after all, this project could potentially kill more than eighty percent of the people living on Earth, just so that humans could evolve to the next level of their existence.


    "Greive Adams, as a person, you are quite interesting. As you can see, I am quite talkative so your reward will be knowledge, but you won''t view the world, or should I say the concept of reality, like before again from that moment onward." The existence said, talking in a very distinct tone which made the listener extremely calm and absorbed. It was as if he was using some kind of magical charm.


    "I feel like I would regret it if I turn back now," Greive answered, feeling a little anxious, but his curiosity got the better of him. After all, he was not a searcher and a scientist for nothing.


    Greive couldn''t gauge the Existence''s reaction, as he was unable to picture their real face even though he was looking at them. He was not even sure if the concept of gender applied to this kind of being.


    "Where do I begin¡­"


    The existence began to tell Greive about things that could be only considered great scripts for a fantasy or sci-fi movie.


    "¡­ Let''s talk about the Earth and humans first. How did the first humane to existence? I believe that his creator called him Adam. This creator was a supreme being, simr to myself, with unimaginable power, and so he wanted to create another being that looked like him. I don''t know about the reason, but when you get too powerful, you tend to lose the sense of what''s real."


    <o>,m The being''s words just throw all of Greive''s beliefs to the ground and crushed them.</o>


    But the Existence didn''t tell Greive that there were only three supreme beings. Each one of them with distinct power which was omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience, but all of them were iplete beings.


    "He created his own universe and created Adam by imitating the human race from the original dimension, then he restricted primordial to reach this universe, to find out what happens if the living beings didn''t have powers. He also wanted to replicate the Tree of Life with one of the original fruit, and Earth was one of the ces he chose for his experimentation. As you probably know, he failed and then vanished, probably, because he just lost interest." The existence continued, but his words suggested that there was more to the story.


    This kind of revtion made Greive wonder if he knew anything about the universe at all. ''How did such a beinge to existence?'' He wondered.


    After all, when the God of Creation used his power to seal the God of Void, then he transferred his power elsewhere, and from the Existence''s words, this cosmic energy crystallized into the Tree of life.


    But as time passed by, the Creation and Destruction authorities became self-aware and the tree divided itself into fragments, which created primordial particles, that were scattered all around the tangible multiverse. Then the fragments also began to find their way to multiple worlds, creating yet other realities.


    So that means that the Tree of life must have been the cause of the birth of these supreme beings, or so Greive thought.


    "Anyway, what is important is that humanity got their hand on a Fruit of life and ate it, but their body couldn''t handle it and he became defective and died. Well, there''s also the fact that corruption could infest this world even though primordial particles couldn''t, and it''s a poison for every conscious and intelligent being, giving birth to every kind of horror. Unfortunately, your son also ate this fruit, and he died soon after, but this time I gave him a second chance by dragging his soul here." The Existence added.<sub> </sub>


    Greive just looked stupefied, unable to fullyprehend what he just heard.


    "I know, it''s not easy for a simple human to grasp all of that." The existence said, seeing Greive''s expression. "Unlike what you think, even I can''t predict the result of the action of things that don''t exist in any of the realities or timelines yet. However, when they exist, I can observe every possibility as long as I search long enough. And Mark, his existence was something that I need, and curiously, only the modified version of him in this timeline and this universe could bring us to the results that everyone needs."


    Parallel universes, different worlds, different realities, different timelines, all of them were concepts that existed, but Greive wouldn''t be able to understand everything even if the Existence told him everything he knew.


    "In other words, an event that is beyond every possibility, and opens the link to the Second Primordial dimension. Something that even I can''t see through, because it''s beyond my power. Exciting, right?"


    Greive nodded, but he couldn''t even picture what the existence was saying, and it was so beyond him.


    "But for that to happen, there are few things that need to be taken into consideration, and everything must follow the path that I have seen without a single deviation because it would create countless alternative timelines that would lead to different oues again. And even if I go to the past and change what happened, there will be countless things that must be taken into consideration again, leading to more probabilities, and to find the right equation to create what you may call, a canon timeline, it might take eons. This is why humans call ignorance a bliss."


    Greive could just nod without saying anything because he already knew that he was no different from a newborn baby in front of this Existence. "Sir, would you please tell me what is your goal, and what is Mark''s role in all of it?"


    "Mark has to destroy me, that will be his role, and he is the only one who can do it, in a way that will create a new conclusion for this battle, and at the same time, new answers. Of course, there''s a reason for this, but this is enough for you." The existence said.


    "I understand." Greive nodded and epted the existence''s answer without any question. He felt like he didn''t have the right to ask him.


    To be precise, the infinite multiverses where Adam existed were just a part of a bigger n. It was just an autonomous body that exist inside of the second Primordial dimension. A prison created by the God of Creation to trap his brother.


    It was nothing more than a tiny part of what''s beyond it, and even supreme beings couldn''t go beyond it¡­


    [Your presence is very inconvenient and Adam should not take notice of it. That should be enough for your observation and for whoever is listening to you.]


    ¡­


    *****


    Adam''s goal was still the same despite everything that he has been experiencing thesest few days. He was still trying to find a soulmate, deep inside of his heart he still hasn''t given up, and he tried to be stronger to protect whoever would be his wife. Ever since he came to this world, this was his goal, but sometimes, the circumstances made him forget about this.


    "I am curious, why are you doing this?" Adam asked, looking at Rudeus.


    Rudeus understood that Adam wasn''t listening to him at all. "The same reason as you are fighting for."


    "The same reason? Are you also unmarried¡­ Well, whatever the reason is, I can''t forgive you, and it looks like you don''t want to settle this with words, so let''s finish this now." Adam said, and a ck sma sword materialized in his hand.


    It was close, he was close to the gate of death, but he managed to use his power of creation for a split second to create this sword which was made of antimatter.

 Chapter 80 Gate Of My Soul

    "I will give you one chance to surrender," Adam said, holding the ck sma sword in his hand.


    But why a sma sword? What happened?


    The fragments of the Tree of Lofe were nothing more than containers of a vast amount of energy. Inside of each fragment, there was a whole dimension where all of that energy was sealed and a host was needed, one that could use this power.


    After the fragments fused with the soul of a person, this person could release this power through their body, giving them an ability rted to one of the primordial authorities. Of course, the person must have a strong body and enough power if they wanted to activate the fragments.


    In other words, a person should be able to manipte primordial particles, and they need to be mentally strong to a certain degree so that they would be able to keep their sanity and be another existence altogether without losing their identity.


    Adam''s case was extremely special, and it would have never happened if it wasn''t for the result of various circumstances that were carefully nned by a certain existence.


    Not only was he reincarnated, but he even had fractions of the original primordial authorities.


    The only reason why Adam didn''t die when he was on Earth was that he didn''te in contact with primordial particles yet, but it didn''t mean that they werepletely nonexistent, after all when he turned thirty, his body exploded.


    That was because the Fruit of life that he ate finally started to show its power when he came into contact with primordial particles that identally made their way to Earth through a gate, and he couldn''t withstand the sudden surge of energy that literally sucked his body from within. Fortunately for him, he was asleep when it happened.


    However, before Adam''s soulpletely vanished, a certain Being copied his memories and transferred his soul to a world where the process of fusion could be halted, in other words, in a world where primordial particles were abundant, then used Marie as a receptacle for his body.


    It should be impossible to have two of the primordial authorities even for the supreme beings, but Marie was special, and the Existence had also added another piece to the puzzle, making Adam his masterpiece.


    All of that was carefully nned and nothing could be left to luck, but the work was done in a split second.


    "¡­" Rudeus just looked at Adam and wondered about what happened. "Are you that confident in winning?" He asked.


    After all, nothing seemed different apart from the fact that Adam was now holding a weird-looking word.


    Rudeus made up his mind and decided to finish Adam off and then think about what was happening after. He didn''t know that it was Adam''s power that kept his mind clear enough to think rationally about such a thing, but still, he couldn''t let go of two fragments just because he was being sentimental.


    Moreover, it was not that time slowed, making it seems like their fight was going on for a long time, but it was just because their thinking process was hundreds of time faster than normal people without them being aware of it, and only ten minutes or so had passed since they began fighting.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    ''What was that?''


    I didn''t know how to exin it nor how exactly it happened, but I just traveled somewhere. ''Or should I say, my consciousness traveled somewhere?''


    The guy in from of me didn''t even notice something, even though it felt like I was gone for almost a few years.


    ''That was close call, I don''t know what that was, but I should be extremely careful in the future.''


    I didn''t even know how to describe the events that I had just experienced after I tried to open the gate of my soul. Yes, I called it that.


    The first thing I did was to try to feel the source of my nullification power inside of my body but that was when things got weird.


    I put everything into searching deep inside me as if I projected my consciousness inside my own body. It sounded weird, but if done the correct way, there should be something happening, or so I thought.


    Well, it was just an attempt, and I didn''t know if it was because of my abnormal mental or emotional state, but something happened.


    Everything got suddenly quiet, and when I opened my eyes, I was standing in a vast space where everything was silver. The glittering silver sky, the desert of silver sand, and most of all, a silver sun.<sub> </sub>


    I didn''t know what exactly was happening, but I guessed that it was as if I was my consciousness was inside of a world that existed inside of me. ''It''s extremely weird, I can''t help but feel like I am beyond the term extraordinary. What the hell is this body?''


    ''If I said to someone that there was a world inside my body, and only spiritual form could ess it, what look would they have on their face?''


    I began toe up with some theories based on what Cristal told me and also from that person''s words.


    From what I concluded, It seemed like my soul waspressed like a zip file, but inside thispressed file, there was anotherpressed file that was protected by a password, in other words, my power of nullification.


    It was just insane.


    ''Who can create an infinite space inside someone''s soul and then seal it with yet another space inside someone''s body?'' I thought to myself.


    ''Really, this is insane¡­ Who would think of such a thing? And why would they do that in the first ce? What is a soul anyway? It''s soplicated.''


    Moreover, it didn''t even stop at that, and when I walked around the silver space, I finally managed to reach a wall made of silver matter that looked just the power that I used to defeat the guy who manipted gravity.


    It extended towards the sky and I couldn''t see the top, but I could tell that this was the gate of my soul.


    If I could manage to open it, at least for a few seconds, I thought, I would be able to be more powerful than I already was.


    However, I didn''t know how to do it, and I had no clue of what would happen if I managed to do it. It was nothing but a gamble, but without taking any risk, I would never be able to be the person I wanted to be, or so I told myself.


    I touched the silver wall and tried to order it to vanish by using my thoughts. Of course, that didn''t work, so I tried to force my way through it, but when I did, the part of my spiritual body that passed through dissolved so I quickly discarded the thought. After all, I didn''t know what would happen if my spiritual body disappeared.


    ''What should I do?'' I thought.


    Then I began to think again, trying toe up with various hypotheses that could help me understand what was happening to me.


    Since this wall let Verte in, it meant that it reacted to my instinctual reaction, but I didn''t know what kind of reaction they were.


    The most probable exnation was that my subconscious could determine if something was needed for my survival, and now what I needed to do was to convince myself that the action that I was about to undertake was needed even if it was risky.


    In other words, I needed to convince a part of me that acted naturally as a defense system that it should stop doing its job just for a few seconds. ''How weird is that?''


    During all of that, I kept telling myself that all of it was real and I was sane. Otherwise, who would think about such a thing under normal circumstances?


    I was wondering why my body, or should I say my whole existence, was soplicated to the point that I was not even sure about my nature.


    '' Am I a human, a God, a monster?


    That person said that it was a little bitplicated¡­. A little bitplicated my as*. I could as well live my life without ever finding out about this. The circumstances that lead me to find out about this were extremely weird in the first ce¡­'' I cursed.


    After that, I tried to control the silver world with my thoughts again, but this time, with a strong intent to protect myself. In other words, I focused only on myself, forgetting about everything, and tried to visualize myself dying.


    Then, my subconsciousness reacted and I reached my hand toward the silver wall.


    And for a split of milliseconds, I could manage to open the gate of my soul before being overwhelmed by so much power that my body reacted instinctively again.


    When I came to sense, I was already holding the sword in my hand, something that I created with my power. Yes, I needed to do all of that just to create a sma sword. However, even though it was an insignificant part of my power, this sword was made of the matter that I ended up calling antimatter.


    I didn''t have much time to think about something extremelyplicated, and my body could only handle a milliseconds worth of my full power, in other words, enough to create this sma sword.

 Chapter 81 Fear

    :::[Third person POV]:::


    "You sounded like you wanted to say something earlier. Now is the time for anyst words," Adam said with unwavering confidence, and an out-of-ce grin appeared on his face. It was as if his emotions just turned upside down, and he appeared like there was nothing he couldn''t do.


    "You sound different¡­" Rudeus said, looking at Adam with puzzled eyes. Now Adam acted like he had an overwhelming advantage over him, so he wondered if he had finally be insane. After all, the corruption might have overtaken his brain, making Adam delusional too like what happened to him.


    "I just realized that theoretically there''s nothing I can''t do. So even if you die, I will take that power of yours and make sure that I will save Liu with my own hands," Adam said.


    Rudeus looked as if he wanted to ask what kind of nonsense Adam was spouting, or from where that sudden confidence came from.


    "¡­I don''t know what kind of power you awakened," Rudeus said, "but it seems like you are already at the end of the line"


    "End of the line? It''s just the beginning¡­" Adam said with a grin on his face as he walked slowly toward Rudeus.


    Rudeus also did the same and walked over to Adam, then the two of them stood in front of each other.


    Adam looked up to Rudeus, while Rudeus looked down at him.


    They both knew that the battle would be over in a few moments, and the oue depended on Adam''s seemingly new power.


    Swoosh!


    Adam attacked Rudueus with his sword but Rudeus avoided it and retaliated.


    Thud!


    Even if Adam''s sword looked dangerous, his fighting ability was still the same, so it didn''t change the fact that it would be easy for Rudeus to kill him, or so he thought.


    "Kuh!"


    However, this time, it was Rudeus who was taking damage.


    Adam attacked faster than he did before, and Rudeus could hear his bones breaking and shattering just so that he could match Rudeus in speed.


    sh!


    Adam''s sword shed Rudeus''s chest before his fist hit Adam''s face so hard that if it was a normal person, their head would have been pulverized.


    Boom!


    Adam crashed into one of the huge pirs again, but Rudeus felt a chilling sensation. "These red eyes¡­"


    Adam didn''t care about Rudeus''s attack and solely focused on attacking and delivering a critical hit. His red eyes looked at Rudueus without no whatsoever killing intent, he just looked as if he had already won.


    "Hahaha¡­ That hurts," Adam said, standing up from the rubble.


    Rudeus instantly felt that it was dangerous to not finish Adam as fast as possible, so he leaped at Adam with the full intent of killing him.


    Swoosh!


    In a split second, Rudeus got close to Adam and wanted to crush him with his fist.


    Boom!


    Adam''s head prated the pir behind him along with Rudeus''s fist and cracks appeared on the pir as the whole castle shook violently due to the impact.


    Rudeus used his full power in this attack and Adam''s blood spurted everywhere around the area of impact.


    Then his limbs looked like they lost their strength and he was dead, or so Rudeus thought.


    *****


    Fear was an emotion that could drive a living being to do something that they weren''t aware of, instinctively or subconsciously.


    What was Adam''s fear? He feared that he was overthinking things, he feared that he would get hurt, he feared that his power would kill him, he feared that his theory would be wrong, he feared that he would fail despite trying, he feared that he would die without even aplishing anything, and so he didn''t want to take risks,


    In other words, what held Adam back to ess his full power was fear.


    Because of fear, he couldn''t open the gate of his soul, in other words, turn off his body''s safety mechanism, so he was always activating his nullification power subconsciously, keeping him from essing the authority of creation. It was a natural phenomenon simr to when the brain decides to lock away some traumatizing memories.<sub> </sub>


    Discarding one''s fearpletely was not something that the same person could do because it was only natural to fear for one''s life, to fear losing loved people, to fear failure, to fear being in ignorance¡­


    However, what Adam did was discard his fear to open the gate of his soul. Theoretically speaking, he should be able to do it even if managed to make his fearpletely vanish for a second, but the situation couldn''t let him do that, because he was a human. However, it did happen, so the question was how?


    Adam''s change was caused by the elements that only existed during Adam and Rudeus''s fight: Corruption, Verte, and near-death experience. Without these three things, Adam wouldn''t be able to ovee his fear. However, these were not the only necessary element because everything that Adam had experienced, for example, his mistakes, and his determination, seemed to have led to this oue. Was that just a coincidence?


    The corruption made Adam''s feelings dull, for example, his worries and his doubts. The near-death experience boosted the adrenaline and dopamine inside his brain making him focus on the fight and increasing his thinking ability. Finally, Verte was the key that showed him a glimpse of a world that he didn''t know existed.


    After that, Adam managed to discard his fear, even for one second, but instead of reverting to his old self, his body didn''t forget about the feeling of not feeling fear.


    Even though it was for a few seconds, Adam changedpletely, to the point that he was almost close to the person he aspired to be, his deepest desire.


    Primordial particles always acted ording to their host''s deepest wish, so in that case, Adam''s wish should be reflected on Pride. So, why did he create another version of himself subconsciously? Certainly, because it was the reflection of how Adam always wanted people to see him and not his pathetic self.


    However, his fear was his biggest obstacle toward this goal, and the reason was obvious.


    Adam finally let his imagination run wild without fearing being wrong, and he took risks without fearing the consequences. He made choices without doubting himself, and he didn''t fear overthinking things and theorized about every possibility.


    Moreover, he didn''t fear deciding to change things by his hand and doing everything to achieve his goal without fearing anyone. All of that, just because the emotion of fear was missing, leading to the disappearance of other emotions from his mind, such as doubt, pessimism, anxiety¡­


    Furthermore, he was now able to use the power of Creation authority, and even though it was just an insignificant portion, his crimson eyes suggested that he was not the same person as he was a few days ago. He became an upgraded version of himself.


    Everything that happened to Adam sounded like something extremely easy, or something insignificant, but he was the only person who could manage to go through such a change under abination of unique circumstances.


    Still, was this a good thing? Could a person still be called a human without feeling fear, or would they be a different being?


    *****


    "Finally, I can''t see where all of this is going¡­ So this is how it feels to not know. The future is iprehensible even though I am looking straight at it, the Being who stood next to Adam and Rudeus without them noticing muttered.


    Even for him, Adam''s fate was not something that he could predict anymore. He believed that Adam was the one who would y him, but even such a thing was not within his ability of prediction any longer.


    The being created a being that rejected the naturalw that came to be established by the universe itself as a way for it to continue existing.


    "I wonder what would happen from here. Would he manage to deal with the one who lurks in the shadow of the Holy Church? Hahaha¡­ I shouldn''t have said that out loud. Someone is observing me again¡­"


    After that, the being disappeared as if it was normal for him to not exist anywhere.


    *****


    Adam was about to die, Rudeus thought, but the entity just stated that he looked forward to seeing Adam''s future. A future that he couldn''t see.


    "Kuh!"


    As if confirming the Existence''s words, Rudeus groaned seeing a ck sma sword prating his shoulder.


    He began to lose the ability to move his arm when the sword began to prate his body as if his muscles were nothing more than butter.


    He immediately stepped back, and the sma sword fell to the ground but his shoulder was heavily damaged.


    "¡­" He finally understood what had happened. The sword fell from above as if Adam had already seen through his attack and tossed it in the air.


    However, to do that, Adam must have thought about all of the possibilities that could lead to failure, and such a reckless move was doomed to fail most of the time.


    Still, Adam took into ount how the Antimatter worked, Rudeus''s abilities and intentions, and also made sure that his sword could be activated remotely.


    His mind worked in a way that it never did before, trying to make his wildest imagination into reality, without doubting himself.


    All of that happened in a second, but still, Rudeus''s punch had also messed up Adam''s face.


    "Kuh¡­" Adam''s face was covered in blood, and his eyes werepletely red as if he was bleeding internally.


    Then, he picked up his sword from the ground meekly, but Rudeus felt something while looking at Adam.


    Fear!

 Chapter 82 Fearless

    After being injured by the sma sword, Rudeus stepped back immediately and tried to recover from his injuries, using his power to elerate his healing, but Adam''s power messed up the process so he distanced himself even further away from Adam.


    This was the first time Rudeus stepped away from an opponent in a very long time, and for some reason, he felt like he was at a disadvantage.


    Adam might have been just reckless or insane, to the point that he took on a critical hit just so that he could counterattack in a very reckless way, almost as if he bet everything on his luck. However, was that really the case?


    Because if it wasn''t, then Adam had just predicted the oue of that exchange of blows.


    "Such a thing¡­" Rudeus felt like it was absurd, knowing that Adam looked so desperate earlier. "What had changed?"


    Physically, Adam looked the same, and it wasn''t like there was a phenomenal surge of powering from him.


    It was just that Adam had be fearless. If it was for someone else, the probability of them creating a miracle by themselves in this state would be low, but for Adam, just being able to create a miracle would be an understatement.


    Rudeus wasn''t probably aware of it, but if it wasn''t due to Adam''s inability to use even a considerable fraction of his power, he would have already died in a gruesome way.


    "Nope, I won''t let you do that¡­" Adam said, then threw the handle of his sword at Rudeus. Yet another iprehensible action that left Rudeus bewildered.


    "Crack! Crack!" Adam held his chin and tried to readjust his disfigured face. "Ouch. It hurts."


    The sword handle spun and headed towards Rudeus, but then, two sma des appeared from both of the handle''s ends.


    Swoosh!


    After that, the spinning gained momentum, to the point that it looked like a ck disk with a tinum edge that headed to Rudeus at an insane speed.


    This was because the sma sword ignored gravity and any opposing force, and not only did it spin but there was two sma de made of antimatter, turning it into an unstoppable killing machine.


    It just sounded silly that such a thing was happening, as if Adam was ying around, but Rudeus felt the danger.


    "I don''t need to use anything much to win. I was already strong enough to beat someone of your level, but it''s just that Icked imagination. Or should I say, I wasn''t convinced that I could do it¡­ Well, aren''t I a little talkative now? It feels like we exchanged ce,"  Adam said, and a fearless and calm look appeared on his face.


    His red crimson eyes were distinct, even though his head was covered with thick red blood, making him look more and more intimidating as time passed.


    After that, Rudeus just avoided the ck disk heading at him, but Adam grinned, then reached his hand towards Rudeus, and after that, the ck disk changed direction following the movement of his hand.


    "What¡­" Rudeus was surprised that the ck disk was following him, and he could also see Adaming at him from the opposite direction.


    He had already begun healing from his injuries, but the injuries were severe, and moving at full speed didn''t help. Moreover, his mind became clouded again as he was far from Adam, so he was feeling an urge to finish Adam as fast as possible.


    "Tch! Such a trick!" Rudeus shouted, but the ck disk didn''t stop and cut everything that was in front of it as if they were made of foam. Still, Rudeus couldn''t ept the fact that this ck disk made him flee.


    He suddenly became angry and rushed at Adam with the intent to tear his heart out of his chest. From what he could see, the only threat was that ck sword, and Adam himself was vulnerable.


    Swoosh!


    Rudeus used one of the huge pirs to propel himself forward while being in mid-air, and he used so much force that the pir broke apart.


    Boom!


    His arm was already close to healing and he was determined to finish Adam with thisst attack.


    However, Adam also rushed at him with a calm look on his face and confronted him head-on.


    That was when Rudeus felt like he just made a very stupid decision.<sub> </sub>


    "I never said that I only had one sword," Adam said, and Rudeus''s eyes widened, but it was already toote for Rudeus to avoid the attack.


    sh!


    "Kuh!"


    Adam passed through Rudeus''a body which was severed into two and filthy bloody red substances showered him.


    Sprut!


    Then Rudeus''s remains and the fragments of his body covered the ground because he moved at a high speed when he was cut into two by Adam. The whole scene was not agreeable to look at.


    The two sma des retracted and Adam caught the sword handle in his hand and thennded on the ground.


    Then the fight ended just like that so easily that it was so anticlimactic.


    Nevertheless, Adam demonstrated something that he couldn''t achieve while being his normal self. He learned from his mistake and dealt with all of his weaknesses, making him hundreds of times more powerful than he was before.


    He finally surpassed one of his limits, a limit that held him back the most. Now that he didn''t limit himself to the norm of his past life, to the norm of a simple human, to the logic imposed by nature, he became apletely different person.


    He made use of his imagination no matter how ridiculous they were because he was sure that he could make them a reality. Without fear, his imagination knew no limits, and no one could say if that was a bad or good thing, only the result was important.


    "Kuh¡­ How¡­?" Rudeus was not dead yet, despite his body being severed into two.


    "Long-distance attacks, close-up attacks, sneak attacks, mental attacks, I can deal with all of that now. How? That''s not the question. What I was wondering about was, why wouldn''t I be able to do it with my power?" Adam said, looking at Rudeus with eyes full of confidence as if he was saying that he could bring the dead back to life if he wanted to.


    Blood dripped from Adam''s hand.


    Tip! Tip!


    The only thing that Adam could control with his thoughts was his spiritual form, but this form only existed within the world inside of him before so there was no guarantee that it would work outside, and most of all, his body could only withstand one second worth of power from beyond the gate of soul.


    However, that was already better than nothing. So, he severed two of his fingers and put them into the handle of the sma sword, and then created the ability to be able to control his body parts even if they were detached from his body.


    Such reckless thinking. There must have been thousands of ways to handle the situation, but Adam believed that this ability almost eliminated all of his weaknesses.


    With it, he managed to control his fingers to generate a tiny amount of antimatter, and with the help of nanoparticles, he created two sword handle capable of detecting the presence of antimatter. These nanoparticles were contained inside of a sma de, and they moved ording to the antimatters movement which was controlled by Adam.


    With this, Adam could control the sword with his thoughts, giving him the ability tounch remote attacks, moreover, these swords would alwayse back at him when he need them, eliminating every risk of him being stripped of his weapon, and most of all, he created two after imagining what would happen if he only had one.


    Adam was by no means a genius, so even though he was smarter than an average human and had a wild imagination, this was the solution that he came up with, the ability to manifest his spiritual form outside of his body.


    Previously, Pride managed to create two abilities, which were gravitational maniption and mental maniption, but that was in exchange for his self-awareness, and were just temporary, considering that Adam''s body was not made to hold multiple power at the same time.


    Still, now Adam had almost no weakness, apart from the fact that his body was still not strong enough to hold multiple power at the same time. For now, he barely managed to control his spiritual form and at the same time his power nullification, while focusing on his two fingers to create a time fraction of antimatter. It was mentally taxing, but Adam didn''t have doubts about his actions, which made it even more concerning and intimidating.


    At that moment, Adam had physical abilities simr to Rudeus''s, his nullification power, two swords that could cut anything, and the ability to manifest his spiritual form.


    Nevertheless, his body was still mortal, and his body''s natural defense, which was his subconscious, strongly opposed to letting him open the gate of his soul. This was not something natural, even though the body tended to have mechanisms that protected it against harm, Adam was being exploited throughout and that was a fact. Someone used his past trauma and his as a gate to lock away his power deep inside of his soul. In normal circumstances, Adam would never be able to ess his full power even if he gathered enough tree fragments to advance to the next level of existence without discarding his fear and awakening his true self.


    Without taking into ount that if his body could manage to assimte onesecond''sd worth of power from beyond the gate of his soul, it would take him millions of years to fully control that world, and make that power his, while letting his flesh evolve. Besides, every time he did that, he needed to cast away some of his emotions. That was why when Rudeus looked at Adam, he said: "Have you¡­ seen your face? You look just like me¡­"


    Adam still activated his nullification power, without letting Rudeus the chance to recover, but this actually cleared Rudeus''s mind a bit in his final moments.

 Chapter 83 Fear To Lose

    "Continue this path¡­ And you will see¡­ You won''t fear losing someone anymore," Rudeus said.


    In his final moments, he realized something important, looking at Adam who cast away his fear to gain more power and surpassed his limits.


    Adam walked toward Rudeus but then he stopped when Rudeus said these words as if he was giving him the time to speak.


    "Fear to lose someone, huh¡­" Adam mumbled.


    As Rudeus said, feeling fear was not always a bad thing, and more importantly, Adam would never be able to love someone if he didn''t fear losing them.


    After all, not even God could control people''s feelings, so even if Adam became confident in everything he did, it didn''t mean that the people he cared for wouldn''t leave.


    "In my life¡­ The only time I felt like my life had meaning was when my wife and my daughter were still by my side. For them, I would have given my life¡­ In the end, I couldn''t even protect them¡­ And here I am¡­ I felt like I was manipted, but I can''t me anyone," Rudeus continued.


    If Rudeus didn''t ept Existence''s offer, he would have died. However, he was about to die again even after epting the offer, he realized that his life was meaningless. He wasted his second chance, and in the end, he didn''t even manage to see his wife and his daughter again.


    "You are strong¡­ But If you want to continue on this path, without the intention to throw away your strength and live a normal life, then cut off all of your ties with the people you love before regret it¡­ This path only leads to loneliness that only those who are strong will understand¡­ Cough!"


    Rudeus talked as if he was giving Adam advice even though it was clearly not the right time for that. He was acting out of character again, making it seem like Adam was the viin who just killed a poor man who lost his wife and daughter and just wanted his family back.


    Adam just stood there, looking down at Rudeus as he spoke these words. It was as if something was going on inside of his head, keeping him from blinking or opening his mouth.


    ''Fear to lose someone,'' Adam thought.


    It was the fear to lose Liu that pushed him to rush into the danger and fought against Rudeus, or so he told himself, but there was no guarantee that Liu would love him back even after he saved her. Thus, if she decided to treat Adam like she treated her friends, would he still ept such an oue? If he didn''t fear that Liu would reject him, could he say that he loved her, or was it, unconditional love? Adam was left confused.


    In the end, a human without fear had already lost a part that made them a human so thinking like a human wouldn''t answer their questions, and Rudeus was the perfect example of this.


    Adam''s condition was just temporary, but the feeling of not fearing anything was more addicting than any drug, and for Adam who experienced the effect of this unusual condition, trying to go back to his usual self would be like taking a step back, or so he thought.


    "You had it rough, man. But no matter how much I think about it, I would never be able to live a peaceful life or protect someone important to me even with all of this power," Adam finally said something. "The problem is when you begin to doubt yourself, thinking that your choices are never good enough, these doubts will lead to failure, and failure leads to you doubting yourself even more. In the end, unless you can think about every possibility, every oue, you would never be able to find the perfect answer. But then again, if you know the perfect answer to everything, and you never doubt yourself, and never fear anything, can we still say that we will live a happy life?" Adam said, as of he was talking to himself.


    It was certainly not the right topic to discuss with a person who was about to die, but Adam began to feel like he underwent a radical change, and he was unable to fully exin what had changed about him.


    "Cough!....  No one is born evil but if you are not lucky enough to die in peace, you will end up like me. Maybe it''s even toote for you¡­ All of these years,


    I thought about it, but is the creation of a world without pain war suffering even possible without erasing people''s desires and emotions? Even if monsters were to disappear, I never managed to imagine such a world¡­" Rudeus asked, as of he was trying to give his own point of view.


    Still, Adam was acting as if he could do anything, because, although Liu was in a critical state, he was still taking his time talking to an enemy that he had just in.


    "Too bad that we didn''t meet under different circumstances," Adam said, then moved next to Rudeus''s upper body.


    Thud!


    Adam stabbed Rudeus''s chest with his bare hand and then pulled out his heart who was still beating, and he did all of that without any hesitation.<sub> </sub>


    His conditions might have been temporary, but it didn''t mean that he would revert to normal after. With the corruption that stimted his violent side and made him more cold-hearted, the probability of his character changing permanently was high, and there was no telling if it was a good or bad thing for himself and the people around him.


    "Guh!" Blood spurted out from his mouth, and he smiled a bit as if he was finally freed.


    "Don''t end up¡­ living a meaningless life¡­"  These were hisst words, and the man who was once known as a hero died.


    Adam held Rudeus''s beating heart in his hand and looked at it carefully.


    The only way to retrieve a Tree fragment from a person was to kill them and retrieve the fragment from their body.


    The heart is the power source for the whole body, so the tree fragment that fused with a person will crystallize inside of their heart which was also the source of their power which was their life force.


    Adam crushed the heart with his hand and then a green glowing seed appeared from within, and as Adam did that, Rudeus''s body turned into green particles, like what happened with Verte, which were absorbed by the seed, making it grow into a single tree branch.


    <o>,m Rudeus said that Adam was restricting his growth but he was also afraid to grow stronger. After all, he didn''t want topletely cast away thest bit of humanity in him.</o>


    *****


    :::[Adam POV]:::


    I felt a little bit sorry for the guy, but there was no one to me for the choice that he made.


    I knew that every action that I had undertaken came with consequences, but when I thought about what would have happened if I didn''t do what I just did, I began to believe that there was actually no good decision at all. It was just about minimizing the damage, minimizing the bother that it might cause to other people, minimizing the time it would take for one action to bear fruits, minimizing everything¡­ In the end, it was just about how to make my life easier, that was the reason why I wanted to make decisions. Then again, there was nothing wrong with that.


    Indeed, if there was no pain, and if the people that I like would love me back, and if I worked smart and with less effort, and if I knew that I didn''t even have to fight¡­ Everything appeared to be easy.


    All of that should be within my reach, so there was no reason for me to hesitate¡­  I had no doubts that I would be able to do that with my power. But¡­ "Why does it sounds so fake?"


    The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I was not in control of what was happening to me.


    I¡­


    "Kuh!"


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    Suddenly, Adam was feeling extremely anxious, as if the effect of his unusual condition began to wear off, and the more he thought about certain things, the more he got anxious and confused.


    He felt like he became a human once again. He feared the unknown, the future, which made him doubt everything that he did. And when he began to feel fear again, his wild imagination was his worst enemy. It was unavoidable because it was simr to the two sides of the same coin.


    "What the hell? This is not the time for hesitation," Adam said, trying to regain hisposure.

 Chapter 84 The Other Side Of The Coin

    The whole castle was about to crumble, and I could feel the ground trembling periodically as cracks formed on the huge pirs.


    "Liu, Zax¡­ Where are they?"


    I needed to act without wasting any more time.


    For a while now, I felt like everything would be fine, and with my power, I felt like there was nothing that could restrain me.


    But suddenly, I somehow returned to my usual self, feeling doubts and anxiety once again.


    I began to wonder if there was a meaning in my actions and I didn''t like it. Somehow, I felt like I became weak once again.


    "Liu, Zax!"


    After searching for them throughout the whole ce, I found Liu and Zax lying next to each other between huge rocks which were probably the remnants of one of the broken pirs.


    The two rocks had weird shapes, protecting Zax and Liu from the falling debris from the ceiling.


    As soon as I saw them, I activated my power and wielded the ck sma sword in my hand.


    "Show yourself!" I shouted, but there was no suspect movement in the surrounding at least within a radius of twenty meters or so around me. I felt like my power got an upgrade after I absorbed the power from Verte inside my body.


    ''Still, am I imagining things? Maybe Zax brought Liu here before passing out again but howe I didn''t notice them?'' I wondered.


    ''Was I too focused on the fight? However, it felt like only fifteen minutes had passed, or did I miss something.''


    Also, there was that idea or should I say a theory that I hade up with after imagining multiple scenarios which made me believe that my reincarnation was not a pure coincidence and someone was manipting the course of things, leading me to reconsider that guy''s words.


    ''Not fearing the loss of someone huh¡­'' I looked at Liu once again as these thoughts.


    Anyway, it was not the time to be thinking about that. After the boss died, I predicted that the monsters would invade the ce and I had to bring Liu and Zax out of there before that happened.


    "Huh? I didn''t expect to find this here. Did Zax bring it here with her too? So why is not next to her but next to Liu?" I said, looking at Cristal''s core.


    I took Cristal''s core and ced it in between the two sword handles, then the nanoparticles began to fuse with the core. ''Where are my fingers though?''


    My fingers were nowhere to be seen and it seemed like they disintegrated into nanoparticles too, giving me the ability to control every nanoparticle forming the sword handles. "So this is the power of creation, huh? Not only does it give me the ability to create everything that I can imagine but it can also act autonomously and adjust the little details that I should be able to think about but missed during the process of creation."


    With this power, the things that I would be able to do were limitless. A shame that my body couldn''t even activate it under normal circumstances.


    [Activatiom of the system.]


    [System activated sessfully.]


    [I am delighted to see you again, master.]


    I was a bit happy to hear Cristal''s voice again. "Can you scan the area and look for the closest portal? I kinda identally disintegrated the purple stone."


    [¡­]


    "What is the meaning of this silence?"


    [Who are you?]


    "Huh?"


    [You don''t look like the person you were just a while ago. What year are we?]


    "This is not the time for that."


    After that, Cristal left to inspect the area.<sub> </sub>


    I was now confronted with a tricky situation where I needed to decide if I would absorb the fragment or give it to Liu.


    If I absorbed the tree fragment then I would be able to create another ability simr to that guy''s but I didn''t know how much time it would take for me to be able to gather the right conditions to open the gate of my soul. Every time I absorbed the power of a tree fragment, my body would get an upgrade and I can use the power of creation.


    When I thought about it that way, everything that happened during mying of age ceremony made sense. The fact that I had already gone beyond the gate of soul at that time and the fact that I  was able to fly. However, since my body was still too weak back then, this power remained temporary.


    Thus, I didn''t know what would happen if I immediately absorbed the power of another fragment without strengthening my body to be able to adapt to the change, knowing that it would impose another burden on my body and my mind.


    But for sure, I wouldn''t be able to do that immediately because if something were to go wrong, then it would put my life and others in danger.


    The problem was that I didn''t know how much time Liu had left. ''What if she dies before I can create that ability? In the first ce, how much time do I need, and how powerful my body should get to be able to control the third ability?''


    On the other hand, Liu was at most a level 8 gift holder so she would be able to absorb the power of the Tree fragment. I didn''t know how it worked for other people but I believe it would save her life at least for now. The problem was if I did that, then I wouldn''t be able to take back the tree of life unless she died and I didn''t know when I would be able to get my hand on a fragment again.


    For some reason, it felt like my thinking process was quicker than usual but still, it didn''t change the fact that I had doubts in my mind. ''I felt like everything was easy earlier¡­''


    I know that I shouldn''t be hesitating but there were too many things that I needed to take into consideration. ''If I choose to save Liu, in what kind of way this decision would affect my future and the future of the world? But if I choose to take the risk to wait but then she dies, would I be happy with that? What if I create an ability to bring her back?''


    Moreover, what kind of rtion Liu and I would even maintain after this? What was Liu for me?


    "What the hell am I even thinking?" I remembered that guy''s words. "If I were to be in Liu''s ce, I would have loved it if she choose me over the world. Such selfishness, I will probably need to work my body millions of times harder to make up for this¡­" I said and manifested my spiritual form.


    I poured some of my life force into the tree fragment and then it glowed and was about to turn into light particles but before it entered my body, I used my spiritual form to stab Liu in the heart, inserting the fragment inside of her.


    "Mm? Nothing is happening? Did it fail?" I frowned, after all, I was not sure of anything and I didn''t even know what exactly my spiritual form was and it was all spection.


    "Guh!"


    "Liu!"


    Liu''s body trembled violently and white drool came out of her mouth.


    "What is this? It wasn''t like this when I absorbed Verte''s power," I said, realizing that I missed something extremely obvious.


    After that, Liu stopped trembling but nothing else happened.


    I put my finger on her neck and I could feel a weak pulse but she wasn''t waking up and her body didn''t revert to normal.


    "Roaaar!"


    I could hear monsters wandering around as if they were now free to do what they wanted.


    [Master, the monsters are still fighting against each other so now is the time to get out of here. I found a portal but it''s still a little bit far from here.]


    Cristal came back and made her report.


    I didn''t expect the monsters to begin fighting against each other but I guessed that some of the powerful monsters were trying to assert their dominance.


    "Turn into an armor and protect Liu, I will carry Zax," I said and took Zax in my arm, then I put her on my back. She was very light so my movement shouldn''t be hindered, or so I thought.


    However, Liu''s body trembled again and steam came out of it as if something was happening to her flesh.


    "Cristal, activate the recovery mode. It was just a prototype but it may help stabilize her condition," I said.


    [Roger.]


    "Now let''s go before it''s toote!"


    I needed to bring Liu back to her friend as fast as possible and I decided to give the fragment to her. Logically speaking I should be prioritizing the fate of the world but as a human, as a man, I thought that not gambling on her life was a good choice because no one wanted that.

 Chapter 85 Time To Go Back

    [Master, can you see that thing? It''s been following us for a while now.]


    "Yeah¡­"


    With Cristal''s ability, we managed to find a way past the monsters who were still fighting among themselves. Although, it was inevitable that we came across low-level monsters, for some reasons, they ran away as soon as they saw us.


    From the look of it, the reason why they fled was not rted to my presence or Cristal''s, but because of something that had been following us since we left the castle.


    "I saw that guy disappearing in front of me, but the possibility of his bing an existence simr to a ghost isn''t zero," I said.


    [What should we do?]


    "Going back is more important for now, so don''t stop unless it attacks first."


    I wasn''t sure about anything, but as far as I was concerned, I could tell that anything could happen from the moment I created an ability by myself. ''Yes, even a flying ck cape.''


    The ck cape followed from afar, but for some reason, the monsters were afraid of its presence. ''Still, if the guy could really turn invisible, would he really wear that ck cape and expose hisst trump card? And why didn''t he attack me when I was with Liu and Zax? Well, if he was close by my power would be able to nullify his power. Or is there another possibility? For example, if it was some kind of magical item then that would make sense.''


    Anyway, I didn''t notice it because its ability must have been nullified during the fight, and that was why the guy could move around the room so quickly when I deactivated my power.


    "Is the portal still far from here?" I asked.


    [No, but I detect some presences nearby, and the path is difficult to pass through if you can''t fly.]


    "I know, but we need to manage to go there somehow."


    The ground was extremely uneven and cliffs were everywhere, making the whole area look like a maze. If someone who didn''t have Cristal''s help went there, then they would be the snack of the monsters.


    Moreover, I couldn''t move harshly because Zax was still unconscious. ''Is she alright, though? I guess she was really shocked, and the fact that she was giftless didn''t help. I shouldn''t have brought her here, I need to remember this situation in the future.''


    There were a lot of things that I came to be aware of after what happened today. ''With my power and my situation, I would never be able to live a normal life. Before, I felt like I was special and I could do great things, but now, even though I know I am special and can create miracles, I realized that ites with a price. It was so easy to say that I was ready for anything to achieve my goal, but if in the end, if I need to sacrifice everything that made me human, that I cared about then¡­ Well, it''s not the time to think about that¡­''


    [¡­ster. Master!]


    "Huh?"


    [You were spacing out. Look behind you.]


    I turned my head and the ck cape was right behind me. Then, I activated my power immediately and the cape fell as if it was just a normal piece of cloth.


    "Why didn''t you tell me earlier. That was dangerous." I said.


    [¡­]


    "Okay, I was spacing out so I didn''t hear you. Anyway, what was that? It didn''t seem like there was an invisible person." I remarked and tried to touch the ck cape with my foot but there was no response.


    [I also couldn''t feel the presence of a human nearby.]


    "Well, this must be some kind of artifact. Why does it follow us though? His former owner died, so maybe it needs a new owner?" I wondered.


    I wasn''t even surprised to see this kind of weird artifact, after all, I had a whole universe inside of me.


    "Still, the real question is, will this help me in this situation or not? Because if not, it''s useless."


    After all, I didn''t want to pass some kind of ritual to acquire the ownership of this cape.


    "Shiiiiiish!!"


    Suddenly, I heard a very annoying noise and when I turned around, I saw a huge snake, wrapping itself around one of the pir-like boulders in the middle of the maze-like area.


    The huge snake was clearly bad news, and I was not up for another fight, so if the ck cape could be of any help to avoid the fight and help us move forward more quickly, then I didn''t find any issue. ''I will think about the other details after we get out of here.''


    "Hey, do something," I said, pushing the cape with my foot after I took Zax in my arms instead of leaving her on my back.


    I deactivated my power, and turned over, presenting my back to the cape, and as soon as I did, the cape put itself on my back.


    Then, I felt like my body was wrapped by an invisible force and I began to float.


    "Nice! Let''s go, Cristal!"


    I didn''t know how did the cape manage to make me fly but it was not a bad thing at all and was extremely useful. I couldn''t also feel any kind of evil intentioning from it, or something wrong with my body. ''Well, if that happens, I would just activate my power.''


    I didn''t even need to think about anything, and I just leaned my body forward and I moved forward. '' I felt like I was some kind of hero. Such a shame that only monsters could see it. Well, enough about that, I should think about what to do from here."


    With the help of the ck cape, we managed to move forward more quickly, and I couldn''t even feel Zax''s weight.


    Despite what I said, I was a little bit surprised to see Zax''s face. ''She was so shocked to the point that she passed out, but why does she look peaceful now? Is she having a nice dream?''<sub> </sub>


    [The portal is right ahead. And master¡­]


    "Huh?"


    After saying these words, the armor covering Liu''s head retracted and crystal blue eyes were looking at me.


    Something in me just stopped for a second, as if time was slowing. ''I don''t want to feel like this, considering the situation, but did this girl be more beautiful than before?''


    Despite everything I had gone through, it seemed like there were still some emotions that made me feel like what I did was worth it. ''Such a thing¡­ Maybe, this is why I am still human despite my power.''


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    Liu turned her head and looked at Adam, feeling that something happened to her body that made it feel extremely light. She could also feel an overwhelming power deep inside her, and the way she was now, she felt like she go head to head with  one of the individuals who sat on the seat of the Guardians of the Empire.


    "How are you feeling?" Adam asked.


    Liu looked at the man in front of him. "Adam? What happened?"


    Adam looked extremely filthy, his hair was messy and coated with disgusting liquids, and most of all, he was naked, wore a ck cape, and held a little girl in his arms while floating. His look didn''t help Liu to at least guess what had happened while she was unconscious.


    "You seem to be fine. We will talkter, let''s go!" Adam said and then rushed forward, and Liu followed him.


    As time passed Liu was more and more curious and she was very confused, but as Adam said, it was not the time for a talk. She could see the monsters that roamed the area, and she was smart enough to understand that it was dangerous to stop.


    "Cristal, Liu, as soon as I immobilize the monsters, rush inside the portal! I wille after you." Adam said.


    Liu didn''t say anything but she couldn''t help but notice the change in how Adam addressed her. Also, it seemed like everything about Adam had changed. His red eyes looked straight at her, and he was taller and more muscr than before.


    After that, Liu just nodded at Adam''s instruction, knowing that Adam was more knowledgeable about what was happening.


    However, no matter how she looked at Adam, some facts left her confused. How strong Adam was? Did hee here alone with Zax or with everyone else? If he came with everyone else, where were they? What happened to her?


    And more importantly, there was one thing that made her more anxious. "Where is Verte?" She mumbled.


    Adam definitely heard her but he decide to not answer and continued forward.


    "Now!" Adam said.


    Liu was still confused so Cristal took the initiative and dashed forward while avoiding the monsters.


    After that, Adam and Zax also followed them.


    Swoosh!


    ''Finally,'' Adam thought. ''We managed to bring Liu back. I hope the others followed my instructions.''


    However, as soon as Adam reached the other side, his eyes widened.


    He went through an insane experience and was almost close to dying, but what he saw made everything that happened look like nothing.


    "What the hell is this?"


    *****


    [Inside of a spaceship, somewhere in space.]


    "What? A signal? What kind of signal?" A middle-aged man wearing a distinct Chinese-like outfit asked, looking at the man who just reported to him.


    "Yes, it came from the Kepalta."


    "What?" The man had face, expressing his surprise.


    After all, things took a very nasty turn while Adam was beyond the gate, and not only did it affect Liu''spanions, but also Adam''s family and his home.


    "Kepalta? How can that be?" The man asked as if he was talking to himself rather.


    The Empire never announced it publicly or even talked about it, but something happened, and it was not something that could be taken lightly.


    "What should we do, sir?"


    "Establish a contact... If by any chance it was rted to Miss Liu, we can''t ignore it. After a year... How can this be, what happened?" The man had aplex look on his face, and even though his hair was still ck, he looked like something was weighing on his mind, making him look like he was an old man.

 Chapter 86 What The Hell Happened?

    The portal transported Adam, Zax and Liu back somewhere inside the mystical forest, but as soon as they came out of it, they quickly tried to gain altitude.


    [Master, please try to stay calm.]


    "I am calm," Adam said, but his face showed his true emotions.


    For someone who used to live on Earth, and was familiar with many sci-fi movies, Adam had a pretty wild imagination, but imagining the scene and living the moment and seeing it unfolding in front of one''s eyes were two extremely different experiences.


    "Locate my mother and my father. Try also to contact Timothy and the others." Adam said with a calm sounding voice but his hair swayed unnaturally and his facial expression was stiffer than usual.


    Liu chose silence and didn''t show any expression on her face but she was as shocked as Adam, even more, because things were clearly beyond her despite everything she had been through in her life. From the look of it, she was suppressing every out-of-line reaction before they emerged to the surface.


    Looking at Adam, Liu could see that he was trying to stay calm and deal with the situation more rationally, even though Liu knew that seeing their home in such a state would make anyone lose their mind. ''From the look of it, there was a slim chance that¡­'' However, Liu refrained from making anyments or asking questions.


    [Master¡­ There''s no response.]


    Cristal''s words made Adam twitch for a second as if he hoped for Cristal to say something else, but the reality was undeniable.


    The under the jurisdiction of the Kepalta family was on the verge of destruction.


    Adam made a decision, thinking that it was for the best, but now that he look at what had happened, he understood that some decisions came with considerable consequences.


    "Let''s¡­ Let''s¡­"  Adam was way past a simple feeling of confusion, regret, or shock, and theck of oxygen in the environment made him feel dizzy, to the point. "We can''t stay here, let''s find a spaceship. Cristal can you¡­ Can you create helmets that could help in this situation?"


    [Yes, I am working on it.]


    Cristal was equipped with different types of useful features, and her upgrade made her more powerful, but at that moment, Adam and Zax needed helmets that could help them breathe.


    Almost the entire forest was on fire and monsters'' ominous roars filled the area, along with other unsettling sounds.


    However, what made Adam feel like he was about to suffocate was not the burning forest or even the monsters, but something huge, something terrifying that he knew he couldn''t beat with his current power.


    He wasn''t even sure what the hell was this monster was, but the eyes that were as big as mountains, and countless tentacles that made giant trees look like grasses, the disgusting body made of unknown substances, all of these concealed the sun, and there was nothing that could be described as natural about it.


    *****


    :::[ Adam''s POV]:::


    I felt my body shaking uncontrobly as I tried to not think about certain things.


    ''What happened here?''


    I had various theories looking at the scene, but all of them seemed unlikely, but  I couldn''t deny what I was seeing.


    We were gone for an hour, at most two, but could all this happen during that time. How such a monster could wrap itself around the whole in a matter of two hours?


    ''Or, don''t tell me¡­''


    I didn''t want to think about it. "Let''s move the city of Mahanoro. The spaceship should be there¡­" I said.


    Since Liu and I could fly, we could get to the city of Mahanoro in 2 hours or so if we moved quickly.


    ''Mom, Dad¡­ I am sure they are okay. Father should have seen the danger and left the¡­'' I thought, however, there was the fact that I was not around so he must have searched for me, and if he did¡­


    ''Shit! Damn it!''


    I felt that my body was getting weaker, and I believe that it was rted to the unknown energy that I had absorbed. As if it was some kind of drug, I felt an insatiable urge to absorb more, to the point that I was all messed up and my emotions were out of ce so I needed to lock them away, but it was not that easy.


    Unlike before, I felt like I was powerless and I couldn''t shake the feeling that all of this happened because someone was messing with me.


    "How did all of these monsters appear here?" I mumbled.<sub> </sub>


    As if confirming my theory, the number of monsters was abnormally high, to the point that the whole forest was full of them.


    ''Also, that dark miasma¡­''


    The scenery was bing simr to what I saw beyond the portal.


    "Rooar!"


    Moreover, there were high-level monsters, even though these monsters shouldn''t be able toe into this world unless a huge portal opened.


    After a while, we finally managed to reach the border of Mahanoro''s city, right after passing the hugend covered by the forest. ''The forest is destroyed¡­ What about the city?"


    I couldn''t stop it and my heart was beating dangerously fast as I looked down at the border of Mahanoro''s city.


    ''Are these human bones?''


    Bones were everywhere, and the monsters were snacking on them as if they were sharpening their teeth.


    I looked further ahead, and the whole city¡­ The whole city was no more. There was no sign of humans and the monsters roamed around as if they be the inhabitants of this city.


    "¡­ It will be hard to find a spaceship without passing through these monsters," I said, but my voice sounded weird as if I was shuddering. It was another phenomenon, showing that my body was at its limit and I needed to rest. However, I couldn''t do such a thing.


    If Liu and Zax were to die, everything I did would be worse than just not having any meaning. ''I must bring them to a safer ce first, then try to contact my parents or Liu''spanions, and if that doesn''t work, then I don''t have the choice but to go around the city and find a spaceship that can still fly¡­ With Cristal''s help, I should be able to make it fly¡­ Hopefully, there''s one somewhere.''


    First of all, I needed to find a safe ce where I could hide Zax and Liu while I search for a spaceship. I knew that thinking about unnecessary things would only worsen the situation so I discarded all kinds of regrets, or at least I tried to not think about them for the time being.


    "You still can''t contact¡­ t.. This is bad¡­ I can''t why now¡­"


    *****


    :::[Third Person POV]:::


    [Master.]


    "Adam."


    Liu instantly dived and caught Zax who fell from Adam''s arms. He passed out for a second, but the ck cape kept him floating. Adam was not just physically drained, but his mind also reached its limit.


    Adam just spent years'' worth of time in his spiritual form and wandered around the silver world inside of his soul. Such a thing required a lot of concentration, and the corruption helped with this by messing with his emotions, to the point that he managed to cast away his fears.


    However, such an action was a huge burden on his mortal body and mind even though it was already upgraded to the next level. If it wasn''t for Verte''s sacrifice, Adam would have died, but without the corruption, he would have died too, and he didn''t know it, but without his power who kept Rudeus''s mind clear, he would never have had the chance to discover the true nature of his power.


    Still, all of that would be meaningless if he died here, and the fact that he passed out showed that it was the time for him to rest.


    "Sorry¡­ I felt a little bit dizzy."


    However, Adam pushed himself to stay awake even after his body forced him to take a break.


    "Are you alright?" Liu asked.


    "Yeah¡­"


    Adam massaged his forehead with his fingers and looked at Liu who was holding Zax. "Let''s go find a ce to hide for now¡­" He suggested.


    "Okay." Liu nodded, but she looked at Adam with an unusual expression on her face. However, Adam couldn''t see it because of her helmet.


    [Master, I received a response from the ship. The signal was weak but it seemed like the message reached the ship. They instructed us to send them our location every thirty minutes.]


    "I see¡­ Let''s do that, but for now, let''s avoid the city and hide there." Adam said rocky hill that looked great for hiding. Adam was still thinking about searching for a spaceship, just in case, things didn''t go well, since, for all he knew, everything always took a bad turn when he was thinking about catching his breath. Nheless, he understood that he needed a break because he wouldn''t be able to do anything with his current condition, whether he liked it or not.

 Chapter 87 What The Hell Happened? (Part 2)

    "There seem to be no one inside¡­ Let''s stay here for now¡­" Adam said, after inspecting the abandoned house.


    He didn''t expect to find a house somewhere around the rocky mountain, but it seemed like there were only a few monsters in the area, and they could be dealt with easily with the ck sma sword by aiming for the head.


    Liu followed Adam and nced at him from behind. ''From what he said earlier, the others didn''te with him¡­ Does that mean that he¡­'' Liu thought to herself.


    Liu was still confused about a lot of things but seeing Adam who tried his best to remain calm, along with his attitude when facing monsters, because he wasn''t even surprised to see such ugly creatures, which would make one believe that he fought monsters all of his life, all of that made Liu wonder if the person in front of her was the same as the Adam who challenged her into a duel.


    "Just give me fifteen minutes¡­ I need to close my eyes a bit. I know that you are confused about many things, so you can ask Cristal about some details for now, and I will tell you everything elseter." Adam said to Liu, then he sat next to the door and closed his eyes, and he instantly passed out.


    Cristal turned into her cube-like form since the environment was breathable, mostly because it was a bit far from the city infested with monsters and dark miasma, so the helmets were not needed.


    Liu looked at Zax whoid down on what looked like a bed made of wood, after all, the whole house was made of wood and tree trunks. One could only imagine what this house was used for before it was abandoned, but its interior suggested that someone didn''t live there permanently even before the invasion.


    "So, you are that maid?" Liu asked, looking at Cristal who floated next to her.


    [Yes. This is my original form.]


    "I see." Liu knew that Cristal was different but she didn''t expect her to an AI, after all, how could be an AI feel like they were human. This must be the reason why Adam hide it from other people, or so she thought. "Can you tell me what happened after I was taken?"


    Liu talked as if she was asking about the weather, but that was only because she tried to not cause any problem for Adam. It was her carelessness that was the reason for all of this after all. Now that Verte wasn''t with them, she knew that she had failed, and she couldn''t me anyone.


    She nced at Adam again. ''I should express my gratitude¡­''


    [After you left, Master exined to everyone the reason why they couldn''te with him to save you. Then, he instructed them to return to the ship...]


    Cristal began to tell Liu the events which had happened after she was taken by themander. She told her about what Adam did to save her.


    [Master was careless and didn''t think about the possibility that someone would be able to counter his power. Things took a very bad turn from there, and even though he managed to take down this enemy, their boss was too strong. After that, I was also taken out of the fight.]


    ''What kind of power does Adam has?'' Liu thought. ''Was he that confident that he could bring me back with his power alone? I don''t even know if what he did wasn''t just pure recklessness.''


    Liu looked at the man in front of her, and when she saw that Adam''s body was dirty and covered with wounds, but after staring for a while she quickly averted her eyes, mostly because Adam was still naked and only the ck cape covered his body. The events that had seeded made Adam forget about his nakedness, and the ck cape kept his body temperature stable so he didn''t feel like he was naked.


    After averting her eyes, Liu looked at Zax. "So that means that Verte was¡­"


    [I am not sure what happened, but it seemed like master managed to beat thest boss, however when I regained my functionalities, the baby was already gone, and Master didn''t say anything about it.]


    "I see¡­" Liu muttered and looked a little bit dejected. From her point of view, her failure was undeniable. Not only did she let the enemy take her by surprise but Verte was also gone. At that moment, a face appeared inside of her mind and her body twitched.


    "So the others stayed here and should have waited for us? But¡­" Liu immediately put away her negative thoughts, because she understood that it was not good for her to be that way.


    [Yes, it seemed like something happened while we were on the other side.]


    "From the look of it, the monsters had already overtaken this, to the point that there are no living humans within the vicinity. Such a thing wouldn''t happen in a day¡­ And more importantly, what about the Empire?" Liu assessed the situation.


    [There was no sign of human presence within this area, but I can''t say about the other ces, however, it''s highly probable that your theory is right, miss Liu.]


    Liu powdered for a while, trying to process the information that she heard from Cristal, after that, the first thing that concerned her was what happened to herpanions, and then she looked at Zax.


    ''I must have worried her¡­'' She thought, looking at the petite girl in front of her, who seemed so frail.<sub> </sub>


    Cristal exined what Zax did and how she end uping with Adam. After hearing all of that, all of the things that Zax went through just to save her, Liu felt a little bit emotional, even though she said to herself that such emotions were not needed for the sake of her goal.


    Zax was crying in her sleep as if she was dreaming about something that affected her emotions. Liu stared at Zax, then tried awkwardly to hold her hand.


    Cristal didn''t say anything and just floated there in silence. Maybe it was because Cristal was an AI and she didn''t have any emotions, but Liu didn''t act like she usually did when she talked with her.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    My head felt extremely heavy, and I couldn''t open my eyes but I was aware of my surrounding.


    ''So Liu can talk like that, huh¡­'' I thought.


    She was usually cold and looked like she didn''t feel anything, but from the look of it, Liu was very sensible, to the point that it affected her so much that she build a wall around herself. ''At least, that''s what I think¡­''


    For some reason, I felt a little bit relieved after seeing her, and I thought that giving her the tree fragment was a good thing. ''She certainly has a lot going on, and the fact that she is trying to keep her calm in this situation is remarkable¡­ She is a good woman.''


    I knew that I needed to get the girls out of here as fast as possible, then think about what happened once we manage to do that, but my body wouldn''t move.


    *****


    :::[Third Person POV]:::


    Liu was the only one who knew about the mission that her father entrusted her to aplish, and the fact that she went to the that was under the jurisdiction of the Kepalta family wasn''t part of it, and Liu didn''t report back to her father before she was kidnapped.


    This sounded like an insignificant detail but when things took a bad turn, it sealed the fate of Yelena and the others.


    "I was sure of it, these two would never betray Miss Liu." The man in a distinct white Chinese-like outfit said, thinking about the events that happened after Adam and Zax went to save Liu.


    The spaceship that used to be Liu''s ship was given to him, and he was appointed to perform Liu''s duties.


    "But even if she were toe back¡­ I hope she is fine." The man said, looking like he was worried about Liu. He was one of the few people in the Fenrirus family that cared about Liu more than her father. After all, he was Liu''s uncle and youngest brother of the current head.


    The reason for his concern was rted to Liu''spanions. Yelena, Feldenis, and another woman were found unconscious somewhere inside the forest of Mistolteos. It was the three men that were sent to keep an eye on Liu who found them after they received a message from Yelena. However, they had lost track of Liu, and she was nowhere to be found, and Timothy also disappeared.


    "Still, I can''t tell if the brat that came with them was not behind all of this." The middle-aged man added.


    Yelena and Timothy were brought back to the Empire after that, leaving behind Brondon who in the end lost his life, because Feldenis lost his consciousness before he could treat.


    However, what awaited them there was the fury of the head of the Fenrirus n, and Yelena was the one who was med the most for what happened to Liu.


    She was tortured to the point that she was about to die, and in the end, she said everything about Adam and Liu''s intention to test him.


    Liu''spanions were imprisoned, stripped of all of their human rights, and treated more badly than animals.


    Unfortunately, not long after that, the under the jurisdiction of Kepalta fell into chaos and destruction, making it hard for them to find clues about Liu''s whereabouts.

 Chapter 88 Liu

    [Master, you were awake?]


    "Yeah."


    To be honest, I was aware of my surrounding the whole time, but I just couldn''t move my body. ''Even now, I feel like I can only open my eyes¡­ This is not good, I can''t say for certain that I would be able to protect the girls if things took a bad turn.''


    I decided to save Liu and bring Zax with me, and I knew that I didn''t always make the best decision, so at least I should take the responsibility for them and try to keep them safe until we get out of this mess.


    ''After all, if I didn''t do that, then¡­ Don''t end up living a meaningless life, huh.'' The more I thought about these words, the more it seemed like my life was meaningless. ''Shit, I almost end up thinking about unnecessary things again. Well, I will need to about that, but not for now¡­''


    After hearing my reply, Liu''s body twitched a little and she awkwardly let go of Zax''s hand and then looked at me. ''Why did you let go of her hand though, Liu?'' I thought, but I didn''t say anything. For some reason, I got the impression that Liu wanted me to have a certain image of her, but to be honest, she wasn''t good at pretending, or maybe it was just my imagination. Nevertheless, I knew that she was concerned about Zax after hearing about what Zax did.


    "I guess Cristal has already told you about what happened, so let''s talk about what we are going to do from here," I said, looking at Liu straight in the eyes, however, I could see that her eyes were wandering around as if she avoided looking at me directly.


    ''Ah! I forgot I was naked¡­'' I was so focused on the situation that needed to be dealt with that I forgot my disintegrated clothes.


    Swoosh!


    However, after I thought about these things, the ck cape covered every visible part of my body, leaving only my head. ''Did it just react to my thoughts?''


    "Yes, let''s do that, but first, I want you to tell me the rest of the events," Liu said, and this time, she looked at me with a serious and determined face. It was quite different from her usual cold and poker face, and it suggested that she had made up her mind.


    I was not sure about telling Liu what had happened to Verte, because I knew that she would me herself, and considering the situation, it would be bad if it negatively affected her.


    Apart from that, there was also the fact that Liu had sessfully managed to absorb a tree fragment, and I didn''t know how it affected her, but it was certain that she became more powerful than before and she must have felt it, bringing me to think about the possibility that she might act recklessly if I told her about what happened. ''Strong emotions and great power are not always a good matchup for every situation after all¡­ Well, I feel like I am using myself as an example here¡­''


    At least, that was what I thought when she first regained her consciousness, but even now, there were still things that I needed to take into consideration.


    At this point, I didn''t want to make another mistake that would lead to more problemster. I believed that Liu was intelligent enough to understand what needed to be prioritized in this situation, but still, it didn''t mean that I should tell her everything without thinking about the consequences. ''Damn, my head is killing me but I can''t stop thinking¡­''


    "Are you talking about Verte?" I asked, trying to gauge Liu''s reaction.


    Liu''s shoulder twitched a little after hearing Verte''s name, as if she didn''t expect that I would ask her about it like that. "Yes, I need to know¡­"


    I didn''t know why Liu was with Verte, but it seemed like she wasn''tpletely aware of her real nature, so I could deduce that she met with Verte without having to kill anyone. However, this made me wonder how such a situation urred, was it a coincidence, or did it happen because someone instructed her to find the person who was Verte''s former host? And why did this person entrust Verte to Liu? Depending on the answer to these questions, I needed to choose wisely how I should tell Liu about what happened to Verte and me.


    However, at that moment, I didn''t have enough information, so I chose prudence and only said what was necessary. "She is gone, I couldn''t do anything anything, sorry."


    "¡­ Tell me¡­ Tell me how did it happen?" Liu said, and for the first time, I saw a change in her expression. She had a sad face, even if she tried hard to conceal it behind her usual poker face.


    From the look of it, Liu cared about Verte, and maybe she intended to take care of her, thinking of her as a baby and not a fragment of the Tree of life. Still, what would have she done if the person who instructed her to find Verte wanted to take Verte from her? I couldn''t say¡­<sub> </sub>


    I was just theorizing, because from what I knew about Liu, she was the heir of her family, and so she was still following the order of the current head, which was her father, so that means that if meeting Verte was not a coincidence, then it must be because Liu''s father knew something about the existence of the tree fragments. ''And unless I can judge that he and his n are not my enemies, I need to be careful¡­ Tch, it might be even toote¡­ Liu was ignorant, and so were herpanions, so they won''t hesitate to report everything back to the head of their n¡­ I hope they didn''t say anything that might lead to more problems.''


    "I wasn''t sure of what happened, but she turned into particles of light and then disappeared. I was on the verge of dying but after she was gone, I felt like I recovered a bit of my strength. Do you know something? What exactly is she?" Instead of exining anything, I turned the question back to her.


    "I¡­ I don''t know¡­" Liu said with aplex expression on her face. She looked like she was a bit lost.


    From the look of it, Liu was certainly not aware of Verte''s true nature. I believed that she knew that Verte was not a normal baby, but in the end, she didn''t know her true value.


    "Without her help, I wouldn''t be able to get us out of that situation, so she is our lifesaver. Such a gentle soul¡­" I said, and I didn''t continue talking any further, because I also began to feel a little bit emotional. I wanted to cheer Liu up, considering what awaited us, but I wasn''t very good at it.


    I didn''t want Liu''s mood to worsen so I quickly said something. It would be bad if she couldn''t control her emotions now and her power go out of control. "Anyway, the first thing that we need to do now is to find a spaceship, if there is one around while waiting for Timothy and the others toe¡­ Just in case things go wrong, it would be always good to be prepared." I exined.


    Liu didn''t say anything and looked like she was in her thoughts.


    "Liu, stay here and protect Zax. I will leave Cristal with you while I go look around and find out if I could gather more information. This cape can conceal my presence, and it''s not good for us to move around together." I said. Of course, I didn''t know if the cape had such an ability, but I wanted to give a proper reason for my decision.


    ? "Alright¡­" Liu nodded at my words.


    Even though I couldn''t move my body well, the ck cape helped me to float, so I didn''t need to move that much. ''This is such a great help¡­''


    "Okay, Cristal, contact me if I don''te back in thirty minutes, because it would mean that I found something or something had happened," I instructed Cristal.


    [I understand.]


    "Okay, please don''t move without telling me, Liu."


    After saying these words, I didn''t turn around and exited the little house.


    Of course, it would be dangerous to wander around with Cristal, and for some reason, after her upgrade, she could divide herself into two, which was something I found useful at times like this. ''Was it because there were two sword handles? Maybe, but the nanoparticles which were mixed with my fingers were superior to the Sterium that was used to create Cristal''s original body. I didn''t even know what kind of material they were¡­''


    [Master, I think that we won''t find any spaceship here.]


    "Yeah, I believe so too, but we still need to take a closer look at the situation¡­" I said.


    [This whole area looks like it was submerged under seawater, but for some reason, the seawater had vanished. Mostly, because of that.]


    I looked at the thing in front of me while listening to Cristal''s theory. It seemed like this monster created a huge tsunami all over the when it firstnded, but then it soaked up the ocean. ''Is it trying to devour the whole now? What kind of beast is this?''


    Well, maybe I was wrong and it didn''t affect the whole, but the fact that I could not locate my parents'' suit made mee up with this conclusion. ''Without mentioning the size of this thing¡­''

 Chapter 89 Thinking Process...

    "This doesn''t look good at all¡­" I muttered, looking at the state of the city.


    I followed the path suggested by Cristal to avoid getting ambushed by monsters, and the fact that I could move without making any noises or touching the ground, which helped to keep a low profile while observing the monsters'' movements and gathering intel, was extremely convenient.


    Cristal turned into a helmet that kept me informed of what was happening around in real-time, so I could manage to sneak past the monsters who were roaming around the area.


    ''I don''t know if it''s like this all around the, but there are too many monsters here¡­''


    Groowh! Grrrr!


    From what I could see, there was no sign of humans anywhere and the monsters were bored. ''They are not fighting among themselves though¡­ Does that mean that there''s already a boss around? Well, that thing is huge but I don''t think it cares about the low-level monster, so there must be a high-level monster who acts as a boss in this area¡­''


    I tried to move stealthily around the city, trying to find a ce where I could probably find a spaceship. ''This will be hard, but for now, I just need to locate a potential ship that could be repaired¡­ However, the resident of the city must have gone with their ships after seeing the monsters, so the chance to find one is low. Nevertheless, even if we wait, it''s not guaranteed that help wille, considering the fact there is that huge thing that would make things difficult. Moreover, if that thing came out of a portal, then I can''t even imagine the number of monsters that followed it and currently wandering somewhere around the¡­''


    At least, we should move to a location where they could retrieve us more easily. ''Because we need to eat, and Zax is still in a poor condition, I think that going back to the main continent is almost impossible. And as of now, I don''t t see any wild animals around, so the only way to find something to eat is to find some canned food that is still edible, and apart from that, fishing.''


    As I was thinking about all of that, I began to get worried about my parents. ''I am sure that they had evacuated¡­ They aren''t stupid enough to wait for me, are they?'' Yet, such a thing was not even stupidity even if they did, so it made me more concerned.


    ''I should really think about all of the possibilities before making a decision¡­ Still, is it even possible to predict all this¡­ I can''t even imagine what would happen from here. I need to think beyond every possible oue because, from everything that had happened, nothing goes the way I thought it will go¡­''


    I stayed still inside the tall building somewhere near the border of the city and peeked from the window as I thought about all of these things. From there, I looked at two locations where I should look first. The building was one of the noble dwelled and the airfield. ''The Noble''s house is a real fortress so there must be food stock somewhere inside¡­ There is also the chance that some people are hiding there, and that might be a good thing but could also be a bad thing, considering that in a situation like this, humans tend to act desperately for their survival..''


    I needed to proceed with caution from there because, in some ways, twisted humans were more dangerous than monsters, and more importantly, I needed to think about Liu and Zax.


    Thud!


    ''Mm? A monster?''


    Grrrr!


    Swoosh!


    Kuh!


    The ck sma sword pierced the wall and then the head of the monster on the other side of it. The attack was a one-hit kill, and then the ck sma sword reverted to a helmet and covered my face. I didn''t even need to move, I just controlled it with my thoughts as if it was part of my body. ''Same with my artificial fingers¡­''


    I couldn''t take the risk of attracting the monster''s attention so I moved to another building while concealing my presence.


    [Master, how are you doing?]


    ''It''s been already 30 minutes?'' I thought.


    "Things are not looking good, but there''s a chance, so I will go investigate now, call me back in another thirty minutes," I said, but because of my helmet, my voice wasn''t projected outside.


    Moving stealthily was very tricky and I needed to be extremely careful, so that was why it consumed time. ''Nevertheless, fighting a horde of monsters in my condition was a bad idea¡­''<sub> </sub>


    Even if my sma sword, my body was in a very bad condition, and it was thanks to my ability to control my spiritual form that I could manage to generate a little bit of antimatter.


    ''Still, these people must be those who didn''t manage to evacuate¡­ Hope they rest in peace.'' I said, thinking back about the remains and bones that I saw while moving.


    I couldn''t even imagine my father''s state of mind, because as the Lord, he cared about his citizens. ''The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I was more immature than I thought¡­''


    I searched the buildings, in the hope to find some food, but the seawater washed almost everything away, and everything left had already rotted.


    There was also no sign of a spaceship, but there were one or two floating vehicles around. ''At least, we could use these floating vehicles to move to another location¡­ Well, I was just being optimistic and believed that we could repair one of them, even the spaceship¡­ The problem was the power source, after all¡­''


    I looked at the sky, and there were only a few flying monsters around, and most of them were gathered around the highest building of the city, which was the noble house. ''Tch, this makes it even difficult¡­ I should check the airfield first.''


    The city was extremely huge, and it would take time to thoughtfully investigate the entirety of it. Fortunately, I could move at a very quick pace when there was no monster around, and I could deal with two or three monsters as long as there were many of them around. Still, I needed to do it in a very stealthy way, as I was an assassin.


    The most important thing was the speed of my attack, and also, they needed to be a one-hit kill. I needed to do all of that with just my thoughts, so it was some kind of mental training for me.


    I took advantage of the fact that the sma de could appear from both sides of the sword handle, so I only attacked linearly, by switching where the de appeared. That way I didn''t need to switch the sword''s position, which would waste time, allowing the monsters to react, and instead, as soon as the de prated one monster''s head, it retracted and rushed to another monster.


    Shoosh!


    Still, I could feel that it drained my strength so I didn''t use it unless it was unavoidable.


    I inspected the monster''s body, and I had also taken a closer look at the other monsters around, and I could deduce that some were level 5 dire wolves, and there were also goblins which were around level 5 too, and lesser minotaurs which were around level 6, simr to the one who attacked during mying to age ceremony. Of course, I didn''t attack the miniature because the impact of their huge body while falling on the ground will cause amotion.


    ''At least there were no wyverns or dragons around, but it was probable that such a monster is the boss of this area. I need to act with caution.''


    Still, even if I manage to find a spaceship or a floating vehicle, getting it out of the city was a tough thing to do. ''Well, I need to recover first before thinking about that¡­ My goal, for now, is to find out more about the situation, and find foods.''


    [Adam? We received a message from the ship that retrieving us from here would be difficult, so they asked if we could move to another location.]


    I was surprised to hear Liu''s voice, and I didn''t know why she decided to talk to me instead of letting Cristal do it. ''Was she worried? I guess she is, and that''s not a bad thing¡­ It doesn''t feel bad. I guess my parents feel like this too now¡­ Tch, I need to reflect seriously on my action, and at least not cause a problem for the others¡­''


    Then again, I remembered that guy''s word. ''However, I won''t end up like him¡­ I will be someone that can make good decisions and is also capable of making my imagination a reality. However, I know that the more I grow stronger the more I need to contemte every decision that I will make¡­ And in the end, it will be inevitable that I will need to choose.''


    For some reason, I couldn''t stop thinking, but somehow I managed to avoid thinking about things that might affect my emotions. However, as a human, I couldn''t help but feel like there was something heavy weighing on my heart and I couldn''t get rid of this feeling, that was why I continued to think.


    "Okay, I am already investigating some location where I could find a floating vehicle or a spaceship. It might take some time though, so contact me regrly. I will bring some food when Ie back."


    ------------------------------------


    Notice: Please check thement section. ^^

 Chapter 90 Thinking Process... (Part 2)

    Liu didn''t agree wholeheartedly with Adam''s decision to go look around by himself because she wanted to learn more about the situation, but she couldn''t leave Zax alone, knowing that she was the reason why Zax was in such a condition.


    ''Her body doesn''t have any critical wounds¡­ I hope she wakes up soon,'' Liu thought.


    This was the kind of person Liu was. She put up a wall around herself to chase people away, but when she cared about someone, she tended to show her soft side, and she knew that such a thing could be considered a weakness in the world that she lived in.


    After Adam left, Liu began to think about various things. ''His attitude changed¡­''


    For some obvious reasons, she couldn''t help but notice the way Adam interacted with her. Among all of the things that had confused her, Adam''s change of attitude was the most obvious, because it made her feel like she was gone for a long time and the man in front of her was not the fifteen years old boy that she knew just a few hours ago.


    "¡­" She didn''t say it out loud, but she felt a little bit relieved that Adam was with her when she woke up because she wouldn''t know what would have be of her otherwise.


    Adam''s calm attitude, despite the situation who appeared to be hopeless, helped her to keep her emotions in check, and now, she could finally think a little bit more rationally.


    Still, that didn''t change the fact that she had failed in her mission and her father must have been extremely disappointed with her. This thought made Liu frown as her face became gloomier than before, and she began to think about how she would deal with the consequences that came with it.


    ''I don''t how to exin what happened even if I tried to. In the end, only the fact that Adam saved me and Verte is gone is important¡­ But such a thing¡­"


    Liu was grateful that Adam saved her, but when she thought about her father''s reaction when he hear that the heir of the Fenrirus family got saved by a fifteen years old boy after failing her mission, shivers ran all over her body.


    She had be more powerful than she was before, but it was more like a mental state, some kind of trauma, something that was engraved in her heart, to the point that she couldn''t even think about opposing her father.


    However, always wanted to bring an end to all of the bad things did, and all of the sufferings that he inflicted on other people, just so that he could maintain the influence of their n.


    This was her goal, to bring justice to her brother and spare a lot of people from suffering.


    But when she grew up and began to work under her father''s order, she understood how na?ve and weak she was. The reality wasn''t that easy¡­ The world she knew was already rotten to the core, and shecked the power to do anything about it. This was the reason why she wanted to gather some talented people to help her, but in the end, it just looked like she was a kid who gathered more kids to fight an army of barbarians.


    ''I am still weak¡­'' Liu thought, looking at her shivering hands, which she clenched tightly to the point that her palm turned red.


    Getting out of this situation was one thing, but what would happen after that was something that Liu didn''t want to think about.


    She quickly tried to change her thoughts and discarded everything that might decrease their chance of survival away, such as the ominous thoughts that appeared inside of her mind, suggesting that she should just stay dead and be another person from here, then forget everything, because now she had the chance to free herself from her father''s grasp. ''No¡­ Don''t think of such a thing¡­''


    Instead, she took a deep breath and began to think about the people that stayed with her despite her problematic character. ''I hope the others are fine¡­'' She thought.


    Cristal observed Liu in silence as if she was just part of the decor. They didn''t know about the events that had happened when they were gone, so when they received a message from Liu''s ship, they thought that it was Timothy and the other.


    [Miss Liu, we received another message from the ship¡­]


    Cristal told Liu the content of the message and Liu began to feel a little less dejected when the thought of seeing Yelena and the others crossed her mind.


    "It''s been one hour, is he fine?" Liu muttered because she began to wonder about how things were on Adam''s side.


    Apart from everything that was rted to her father, what happened to Adam''s home was another thing that she needed to think about, along with the identity of the people who abducted her and the true reason why they wanted Verte. There were a lot of questions, but she knew that she would not find the answer to these questions that easily.


    She suspected that Adam didn''t tell her everything, because she didn''t tell her what happened to the person who wanted to take Verte. ''If he beat that monster, how did he do it? How strong he is now? Can I trust him?''<sub> </sub>


    Liu nced at Cristal, and when she thought about it, at least, she coulde up with the conclusion that Adam didn''t have any ill intention toward her. He went through all of that trouble for her, and even now, his was in a post-apocalyptic state, and his parents'' well-being wasn''t confirmed, but he had still managed to keep his emotions in check and prioritized their safety.


    She didn''t want to suspect the person who saved her, but it was herck of imagination that lead to her failure which cost Verte''s life, and she didn''t want to go through that again.


    ''For now, I should trust him and try to cooperate, to get out of this situation¡­ Everything else can wait.'' Liu thought, trying to make up her mind about the things that they still had to face from there.


    "Grool!" Liu''s stomach made a weird sound. She was feeling hungry, but she didn''t want to say it, considering the circumstances. She understood that Zax and Adam must have been hungry too.


    [Are you worried about master?]


    Cristal''s question made Liu''s body twitch a little bit, and as if she came back to reality, she looked at Cristal with widened eyes.


    "No¡­ I was just thinking about various things rted to the situation that we are facing currently." Lou said, and even though she didn''t have to exin anything, she felt the need of exining what she was thinking about.


    [We should contact him now, and also tell him about the message.]


    "Yes, we should do that."


    [Okay, it''s connected, he is listening to you.]


    "Wha-¡­. Cough!"


    In the end, Liu ended up reporting the situation to Adam, and Adam also exined how things were going from his said. He had also said that he would bring food when he came back, which made Liu smile a little bit because she felt embarrassed.


    After that Cristal exined that with Liu talking, Adam would guess that nothing bad happened without them saying anything.


    "At least tell me beforehand¡­" Liuined.


    *****


    ''There''s someone inside¡­''


    Someone hide themselves a little bit far from the little house because they felt Liu and Zax''s presence.


    ''Who are they? A new type of monster? Or, were there still humans around? I thought that the remaining humans hide somewhere inside the city, but it''s been a while since I saw one around so I thought that they were all dead.'' The person thought, trying toe up with the identity of the people inside the house.


    Adam was also surprised to see a house hidden somewhere within the rocky mountain, but since there was no sign of a person living there, he thought that it was abandoned. However, that wasn''t the case.


    ''I decided to erase my presence inside the house to not attract monsters around this area¡­'' The person added, thinking about the possibility of monsters'' discovering their hideout, but there was not much activity inside even after she waited for thirty minutes, so if they were monsters, then they must have tried to take her by surprise, or so she thought. ''How could these monsters be so smart?''


    ''Should I try to sneak attack them¡­ From the look of it, there should be at least three of them.''


    Then, the person tried to approach the house stealthily without making any noise, and a crimson red sword appeared in their hand as if it was some kind of magic trick.


    Still, they didn''t know about Cristal''s ability, so Liu was already aware of their presence and was waiting for them to make a move.

 Chapter 91 A Secret Pathway?

    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    Reaching the airfield took more time than I had expected because as I went deeper inside the city, the number of monsters continued to increase.


    ''This is going to take a while, so for now, I should focus on finding something edible¡­''


    Most of the monsters didn''t wander inside the buildings so I had time to search inside, but as expected, there was not much to discover.


    ''I need to find something like a vault or a storage room¡­ There must be one somewhere.''


    Scrrreeeh!


    ''!?''


    I immediately hide behind a wall after hearing a very weird noise. Because I wanted to find a room that might be used as storage, I went to the basement of one of the buildings, in the hope to find something, but I didn''t expect to see something extremely disturbing.


    The area was very humid and the water hadn''tpletely dried up, making it extremely disgusting to look at, because of the moss and the slimy substances that covered the walls.


    It was dark inside, but Cristal helped me to see so I wasn''t disoriented by the foggy shadowy environment.


    At first, I thought that the weird substances on the walls were something natural because the ce was abandoned, but as a ventured inside...


    "What kind of monster is that? I never saw something like that before." I said, after seeing a very disgusting creature.


    [It looks like its body is made of some sort of viscous substance.]


    "Yeah, I know, but it doesn''t change the fact that it''s utterly disgusting. And more importantly, I can''t probably kill it with one hit." I said as I examined the monster from afar.


    I thought that it was better to leave it alone and move to another building, but just in case, I needed to make sure that I didn''t miss something.


    "Cristal, activate the x-ray vision."


    [Understand.]


    "This is¡­"


    I was surprised by what I saw, but then I thought that it made sense for such a thing to exist. ''Still, I didn''t expect something to exist here¡­ A secret pathway, huh. I wonder where it leads.''


    However, there was a problem, and it seemed like I couldn''t ignore it, because there a disgusting monster was just in front of a door. It was not a normal door, because, behind it, there was a room, and inside of this room, there was a hidden door that led to a secret pathway.


    I thought about using the sma sword to make a hole in the walls and avoid the monster, but they were too thick.


    ''Should I give up and find another way? But it would take time, and from what I can see, it seemed like monsters didn''t manage to find this pathway yet, so there is a high probability that I will find some survivors.''


    However, if I went that way, it would take some time and I didn''t want to leave Zax and Liu alone for too long.


    ''Well, for now, I should look inside the room, because there is a high possibility that it''s some kind of storage too.''


    But firstly, I needed to get that monster out of the way. ''So it has some kind of cores, huh¡­ X-ray vision is sure convenient. I am d that I Cristal was equipped with a lot of useful functionalities.''


    Still, the thing in front of me was very disturbing to look at, since it looked like something out of these scary sci-fi movies. Its body consisted of a ck viscous substance that spread on the walls like tree roots, and at the center of it all was a transparent oval-shaped object that contained a red liquid. There were a lot of tentacles that moved like snakes around it, and these tentacles has heads with mouths that were extremely frightening to look at.


    ''Are these bones? It was weird that monsters didn''t wander around this kind of ce, but it was because they became the prey of this thing when they did. Hmmm¡­ There are five cores in total¡­ However, as long as I don''te too close, it shouldn''t be able to discover me. In that case, I should just finish it from here.''<sub> </sub>


    However, to do that, I needed to turn Cristal into a sword, which implied that I would be defenseless. ''Well, I would be able to use my fist, but the way I am now, the thing I could do is limited¡­ This sucks. No matter how I look at it, the best choice was to avoid this thing, but somehow my instinct tells me that I should go beyond that door¡­''


    I was also wasting time as I stayed still, thinking about what I should do, and that wasn''t a good thing, because I needed to return before it get dark. ''It should be about 3 PM¡­ I need to hurry. It doesn''t look like I will be able to find a spaceship today.''


    I looked at the monster again and thought about the things that I needed to take into consideration if I wanted to attack it now.


    "That red liquid is bad news¡­ However, the cores are somewhere inside of it. Also, if I turn Cristal into a sword, it would reduce my ability to see, which would be extremely dangerous. No, I should avoid it, for now, it''s too dangerous. I shoulde backter and bring Cristal''s other part. Finding food is more important¡­"


    My chance of winning wasn''t low, but I wanted to avoid any problems for the day because I was not fully recovered and Liu and Zax needed to eat something.


    After that, I decided to turn back and search for food inside the other buildings. As expected, I didn''t find any secret pathways, at least inside the other buildings that I investigated.


    ''Still, this is awful¡­ How many people died here. No matter how I looked at it, protecting everyone was impossible for a Lord to do, even with the help of nobles. Well, things like this are not something that one could predict¡­ There was nothing they could do about it.''


    I looked at the dposed body of a little girl. ''She deserved better¡­ I don''t know her, but I think no one deserves to end up like this¡­ From here I should do everything in my power to prevent something like this to happen to the people I care about¡­ Damn, I hope I am not toote."


    This was the cold reality, and I couldn''t do anything to change the definite oues, even though I had so much power. ''In the end, if I couldn''t use it¡­ Then it''s useless.''


    But that didn''t mean that I couldn''t do anything at all, and the most important was to do the things that I could do in a way that I wouldn''t regret. ''Well, I feel like I am just trying to avoid the main issue ¡­ But that''s fine, at least for now.''


    After searching from one building to another, I finally managed to find a home where a rich merchant lived, or so I concluded.


    "Finally!"


    I took the canned foods and put them into a ragged bag. "From the look of it, this room wasn''t filled with water even when the whole city was submerged under water."


    [Yes, it seems like this room was conceived to be thest hideout for the person who lived inside of this house.]


    "Unfortunately, it seems like he didn''t get to use it in his final moments¡­"


    The room was tightly shut, but with my sma sword, I could manage to force my way in. Nevertheless, I needed to make sure that I didn''t make too much noise, knowing that I was almost in the middle of a city where monsters roamed around the streets as if they were its inhabitants.


    ''I should go back now¡­''


    In the first ce, I should have taken a break and recovered my strength beforeing here, but the thoughts in my head wouldn''t let me rest without doing anything, so in the end, I decided to take a closer look at the situation.


    During thesest few hours, I thought about many things, and it seemed like I was now calmer than before, but it didn''t change the fact that what I saw around this city was something that I need to reflect on.


    ''I hope Zax wakes up when Ie back¡­ Her skills are needed to repair the spaceship or the floating vehicles.''


    I could do it alone, but it would take time as I was not a specialist, but with her skill, we should manage to repair one.


    [Master, someone suspicious has appeared near the cabin.]


    "What? Are you sure that it''s a person and not a monster?"


    [Yes, but they are quite different from a normal human.]


    "A gift holder? Shit, tell Liu to not do anything if they don''t attack. They must be wary of us, but it''s better to try to talk things out if possible. I am already on my way back." I said.


    After all, it would be bad if Liu and this person thought of each other, considering the circumstances.

 Chapter 92 Mysterious Woman

    :::[Third person POV]:::


    [They are moving.]


    As soon as a suspicious person appeared near the little house, Cristal immediately informed Adam Liu.


    Liu paid attention to Liu''s report and asked for confirmation. "There''s only one person, right?"


    [Yes, and master suggested that we shouldn''t show any hostility and talk things out if possible.]


    As Cristal said, Adam instructed her to tell Liu that it was unnecessary to antagonize this person because they might be the only clue to finding out what happened while Adam and the others were on the other side of the portal.


    "Yeah, I know, but it''s better to be careful and be prepared. It''s weird for a human to show up now, not to mention that they are alone unless they are extremely strong and managed to survive alone all of this time. And if not, then they could be also rted to the people who abducted me and Verte." Liu whispered as she stood up in front of the door, preparing herself to fight.


    After what happened to her and Verte, Liu was on her guard against people who showed up out of nowhere. She was surprised by Cristal''s ability and Adam''s suggestion also made sense, but she couldn''t let herself caught off guard again.


    When themander and the other armored men appeared, Liu was helpless, powerless, and couldn''t do anything. ''I couldn''t even manage to protect Verte¡­ I failed¡­ But I won''t let that happen again,'' she thought, looking back at what happened and nced at Zax who was still unconscious. ''I couldn''t evennd a hit on him¡­ How did Adam manage to beat such a monster?'' She wondered as she tried toe up with better strategies.


    Liu didn''t know about Rudeus''s abilities so she couldn''te up with anything to protect herself against it, and even if she did, she was weak and didn''t have authority, thus she never stood a chance against him.


    But now¡­


    [I will go meet them. As long as they can understand humannguage, I should be able to exchange some words with them.]


    Cristal''s suggestion was not bad and Liu understood that it was dangerous to show herself or her power without knowing her enemy.


    ''I am not even sure if monsters can''t disguise into humans¡­'' Liu thought to herself, thinking back about Rudeus who was not a normal human just by looking at his appearance.


    "Okay. Give me a signal if they turn out to be dangerous."


    Cristal observed Liu as she said these words, looking like she was assessing her abilities, then she went out of the house from a little window.


    [Can you see them, or should I say her, master?]


    [Yes, what kind of power is that?]


    The image that Cristal''s lenses recorded could be transmitted to Adam''s helmet if needed, and this time, it seemed like Cristal and Adam concluded that the person who approached the little house was a female. Without Cristal''s ability, Liu and Zax wouldn''t be able to hear anything until this woman got too close because she was floating in the air and two crimson red wings appeared on her back, but with Cristal''s X-ray vision and the other type of scanners that she was equipped with, the woman couldn''t hide. She wore a ck coat made of animal skin which covered her head and her full body and held a crimson red sword in her hand.


    As soon the woman saw Cristal, she instantly took a fighting stance and multiple crimson red swords appeared around her.


    [I am not here to fight. Can you understand my words?]


    The woman looked a little bit surprised by Cristal''s words but it didn''t seem like it was enough to change her mind.


    "What is this?" She mumbled. Various thoughts appeared inside of her mind as she looked at Cristal''s figure: A cube-like object who floated in the air and talked. ''But how?'' she thought.


    The woman traveled through different worlds and saw a lot of unusual forms of advanced technology, but that was not the reason why she asked this question to herself. Instead, ''how did this kind of thing appear here? Did someonee here to find some survivors? But why now?'' these were the questions that she pondered about.


    [The people inside don''t have any ill intent, and they just want to talk. Is that possible?]


    "What kind of trick is this?" The woman said, with a facial expression showing that she didn''t believe what Cristal said and thought it was some kind of trick.


    Moreover, the fact that Cristal had managed to discover her, even though she erased her presence, made her more suspicious of Cristal''s intentions. Then Cristal mentioned that some people were waiting for her inside the little house that she built and where she hide herst bit of survival rations, which made her more restless. ''What do they want? Are they trying to pressure me to share my food with them? But how did they discover that I was here?''


    After a certain incident which was followed by the invasion of the gigantic monster, this woman was stuck on this without a way to leave and began to survive by herself. ''They seem to be confident, is it because they have this kind of technology? Still, I wouldn''t fall for such a trick¡­'' She made up her mind.


    The wings on the woman''s back moved and created a red tornado.


    Swoosh!<sub> </sub>


    [Please calm down, there''s an unconscious person inside.]


    "Do you think that I would fall for such a trick, show yourselves?" The woman shouted.


    But after she said that, the temperature in the surrounding dropped drastically, to the point that it froze the oxygen in the atmosphere and created a wall of ice that collided with the tornado, creating an explosion of steam.


    Liu appeared in front of the woman and crystal wings appeared on her back, giving her the ability to float as she control the particles in the area around her. This was something that she couldn''tpletely master before, but now, she was able to do it, and she even had the feeling that she could do more than just control these particles to make her float if she wanted it.


    ''What is this? I feel like I am overflowing with power. What happened to me? Shouldn''t I get weaker instead?'' Liu began to wonder about what Adam hide from her, but for the time being there was something more important.


    "What are you?" Liu asked.


    "What? A woman? A gift holder?" The woman also seemed surprised to see Liu.


    "Blood? What kind of monster is that?" Liu mumbled, thinking about the possibility of a monster clothed with human skins. She even wondered how monsters could evolve to such a level, because from everything she experienced thesest few hours, the probability of such a thing happening wasn''t low, which made it more concerning, not only for her but also for everyone living in this world.


    Liu became warier of the woman in front of her, and soon, there was a very tense atmosphere between the two of them as they began to stare menacingly at each other.


    But suddenly, a disrupted the tense atmosphere. "Okay, please calm downdies."


    As soon as Adam said these words, Liu and the woman in ck felt something.


    ''What? I can''t use my power!'' Both of them thought.


    Then, they lost their ability to float in the air and fell to the ground.


    "Hop!" Adam caught Liu in his arms and Cristal transformed into three maic chains then wrapped around the other woman''s body and kept her afloat.


    "That was dangerous," Adam said, looking at the frozen ground, "if we alert the monsters and they find this ce, there will be no end to it. Still, I am d that you and Zax are safe." He added as he slowlynded on the ground and let go of Liu who seemed a little bit confused.


    Liu looked at Adam, and unlike before he was wearing clothes, even though they were still ck because this color seemed to be Adam''s favorite color when ites to clothes, and had a ragged bag attached to his arm.


    However, what confused Liu the most was the fact that for a minute she couldn''t use her power, or more precisely, it became harder to use it. ''What was that? Did Adam do that?''


    Without saying anything to Liu, Adam walked over to the mysterious woman and uncovered her face, and looked at her, then two crimson red eyes looked back at him.


    "You¡­ Who are you?" The woman said, looking at Adam who also had red crimson eyes and ck hair as if he was one of her kind.


    "Sorry for this, but I don''t think it''s wise to attract the monsters'' attention so unless you are ready to talk I will kill you here," Adam said, and his eyes weren''t joking.


    A sma sword appeared in his hand and he swung it towards the woman''s neck, but then he stopped when it grazed her skin.


    Swoosh!


    Red blood came out of her neck, and she couldn''t use her power.


    "So? What do you decide?" Adam asked.


    "I understand. Let''s talk." The woman said.


    After that, Cristal released the woman and Adam also deactivated his power to see her reaction, but he still had the sma sword in his hand.


    However, after a few seconds, the woman didn''t do anything, and Adam and she red at each other.


    Finally, Adam put away her swords and gestured for the woman to follow him, after a moment of silence. "Okay, let''s go inside for now."

 Chapter 93 Blanca

    "My name is Adam and she is Liu. The one who is asleep is Zax and you can call her Cristal." Adam said, introducing himself and the others. "What''s your name?"


    There was a slight hesitation on the woman''s face before she replied. She was still suspicious when she first came inside the house, but after seeing Zax, her suspicion subsided to a level where she was open to a discussion.. "¡­nca." She muttered.


    Adam stood next to the door like before with Cristal floating next to him, and Liu sat on the bed close to Zax, but nca sat on what looked like a chair made out of a tree trunk.


    Adam remarked that Liu''s eyes were fixated on nca, but now and then, she nced at him, and when he nced back at her, she averted her eyes and looked at nca again.


    ''What''s up with her? Do I have something on my face, or does she want to say something?'' Adam wondered and stroked his cheeks, after all, he had already washed his face and put on some clothes before he came back, realizing that he looked like a ghoul.


    Still, Adam knew that he could always talk with Liuter if there was something she wanted to discuss, but at the moment, getting some information from nca was more important so ignored Liu and continued to talk to nca.


    ''From the look of it, Liu and nca showed a sort of animosity towards each other¡­ I don''t know why?'' Adam thought, but from the look of it they were just on their guard and they were warier of him than anyone else.


    "Okay, you can ask questions first. It seems like you are still wary of us, and to be honest, we are also on our guard." Adam said looking at nca.


    As for nca, after she became less hostile toward Adam and the others, she began to scrutinize Adam''s appearance with her eyes, and her stares were so intense that Adam felt a little bit ufortable. "Why are you here? And who are you? Are you also part of the Order?" She asked in a calm but very assertive tone.


    Liu''s eyebrows twitched a little after hearing nca''s words and attitude but she didn''t say anything and wore her usual poker face.


    Adam looked at nca in the eyes for a while before answering, and his red crimson eyes made her feel a little bit pressured. She thought that if Adam was one of her kinds, then with his power, he could even be one of the legendary ancient vampires that she heard about when she was little.


    Vampires were quasi-immortal and the passing time meant a little to them, but even among these legendary beings, the ancient vampires were special.


    "I am from this, but due to a certain incident, we were transported to another world, and when we came back, things changed and we are confused. And unfortunately, I am not part of the group that you mentioned. Now, I will ask you the same questions. Who are you? Why are you here? And what is this order that you are part of?" Adam said, without averting his eyes from nca even a second.


    ''Is he going to tell everything to her?'' Liu thought, looking at Adam and then at nca. It was highly probable that she felt left out of the conversation, and some details made her cross her arms and looked away while closing her eyes. ''This woman is suspicious¡­''


    Adam noticed Liu''s reaction but he decided to ignore her for now. His goal was to gauge nca''s reaction and not Liu''s.


    From what nca said, she was part of a group that he didn''t know about. However, from nca''s demonstration of power, he could tell that this group was very dangerous, thus, he wanted to know what nca was doing on his and how she managed to survive.


    nca looked a little bit bewildered after hearing Adam''s answer. "You are from this?" She muttered, sounding like she didn''t fully believe Adam''s words.


    "Yes, I was born here, that''s why I want to know what happened. So now, tell me who are you and why are you here? Is the group that you mentioned rted to this incident?" Adam said and his tone sounded a bit menacing.


    Even Liu felt the change in Adam''s tone and looked at him with odd eyes. When Adam got angry, she was unconscious so she never saw this attitude of him. "¡­"


    nca also felt the change in Adam''s tone which made her body twitch a little bit. Even though she was a vampire, she wasn''t sure that she would survive if her head was cut off, and Adam just warned her that he wouldn''t hesitate to do that. Moreover, the biggest mystery that she couldn''t solve no matter what she thought about it was the fact that somehow she couldn''t use her power when she was facing Adam.<sub> </sub>


    nca''s power didn''t materialize no matter how much she tried, so she knew that Adam was wary of her once again. She understood that she had to be honest, because, from the look of it, Adam wasn''t lying to her, and she understood that just by looking at Zax. "I am from a different world and I came here to retrieve something, but I was toote and my pursuers caught me¡­ Then¡­"


    "Then?"


    "I can''t remember. I can only say that I was fighting, and then¡­ I was underwater, and when I came to my sense, that huge monster was already there, sucking up the waters. I almost end up inside its stomach if I didn''t regain my consciousness. After that, I had no way to go back to my world nor the ability to cross move to another ce, since I deemed it dangerous to fight the monsters head-on, so I stayed here," nca continued.


    From what nca said, Adam understood that nca wasn''t rted to the Holy Church or the Empire and that she was also more or less clueless about what was happening, however, there was some important information that he could get from her.


    "Since when did you regain your consciousness? And did you meet someone else during that time?" Adam asked, thinking about the possibility that his father might had send someone to search for him.


    "I can''t tell. I am not good at keeping track of the time. It felt like it was already, half a year? At first, I could see some survivors, but after a while, no one appeared, so they must be all dead¡­" nca said, sounding like the fate of these humans didn''t concern her at all.


    ''With her power, it is not that surprising that survived even if she was alone, and from the way she said it, it seems like she has some kind of regeneration ability. When she asked if I was from the order too, does that mean that there are beings like her around? From her characteristics, she looks simr to mom, but is there some kind of connection somewhere in all of these?'' Adam thought.


    From what nca said, Adam concluded that no one else came here, and a considerable amount of time had passed, even though they were just gone for a few hours. ''Tch, I didn''t expect this¡­ Still, now that ites to this, I need to find a way out and stop thinking about what I did wrong. It looks like I am being taught the hard way.''


    There was a moment of silence, and an odd atmosphere filled the room. The two women looked at Adam who looked like he had gone somewhere even though his eyes were open.


    "Okay, let''s eat for now," Adam said, suddenly, which surprised Liu and nca. "You too, Zax."


    After hearing Adam''s words, Liu''s eyes widened and she turned and looked at Zax who tried to shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep.


    "She was already awake this whole time," Adam said, then took the canned foods from the bag and inspected what was inside. "Hmm! It doesn''t taste bad."


    There was no room for pickiness considering the circumstances, so the three women epted the canned food that Adam offered them.


    Zax looked at Liu with teary eyes, but Liu patted her head and smiled a bit.


    "I am fine now." She said.


    Zax looked like she was overwhelmed and started sobbing. She was awake the whole time but she didn''t know what to do, and there seemed to be a serious conversation going on, so she pretended to be asleep.


    Adam left Liu and Zax alone and moved next to nca who didn''t hesitate to eat the food that was offered to her as if it was the most delicious thing in the world.


    "¡­" After seeing Adam who looked at her as if he saw something amusing, she swallowed the food in her mouth and acted as if nothing happened. "Where did you find those?" She asked.


    "Inside of one of the buildings in the city," Adam answered nonchntly and began to eat his food too.

 Chapter 94 Talk

    nca had a stunned look on her face as she looked at Adam who was standing next to her. "You went to that city alone?"She asked.


    "Yes, but it was not as easy as you think," Adam answered, trying to make it sound like he had a hard time, but since he came back, he didn''t show any weakness in front of nca, because he knew that showing any weakness to a potential enemy was pure foolishness, even though he was already past his limits and just wanted to close his eyes for good.


    However, as Adam anticipate, nca didn''t care if it was an easy thing to do or not and what she wanted to know was how Adam managed toe back without being followed by monsters. "What kind of trick did you use?" She asked, thinking back about what she had to go through to find some edible things that tasted bad.


    nca wasn''t stupid so she knew that fish could be eaten, however, cooking them was another ordeal, same with the herbs and the wild animals. All of this time, she didn''t have to eat because she had a bottle filled with ancient vampire blood, and one drop could keep her going for centuries as long as she didn''t want to eat some fancy dishes.


    However, things changed after her fight because she lost the bottle and she had regenerated almost every part of her body, so she became hungry and had to eat to survive, but the things that she ate weren''t as effective against hunger as the ancient vampire blood.


    "Are you curious?" Adam tried to read nca''s face as he asked this question. "Tell me about things that you needed to retrieve on this and about the people who were after you, then I will tell you one secret that you might find you will find beneficial," he added, trying toe up with a way to get more information out of nca.


    Bianca was not stupid, of course, but sometimes she was a little bit na?ve. "What do you know?" She asked, looking at Adam suspiciously, but she couldn''t read him at all. ''Does he know something about the fragments too? I don''t think so¡­''


    "You go first, then I will tell you something of the same value," Adam said, looking like he wasn''t really enthusiastic about hearing nca''s answer, and that the information he had was more valuable than nca''s.


    Bianca fell into Adam''s trap because when she thought about it, she didn''t find anything that Adam would gain from the information that she knew. However, this was what Adam wanted her to think, and Liu and Zax were helping Adam to extort information out of nca without them knowing it. After all, when nca saw a little child and a woman who wore a fancy dress, she dismissed the thought Adam and the others had something to do with tree fragments. Moreover, she lost the bottle containing the ancient vampire blood so there was no way for her to know.


    Nevertheless, she didn''t reveal anything much. "I came here to find a mysterious tree fragment, and the people who were after also wanted this fragment," nca said, making it sound like she was some kind of herbalist.


    Adam had various thoughts crossing his mind after hearing nca''s words but they didn''t show on his face, and this made nca think that Adam was not familiar with the tree fragments. However, she was still curious about Adam''s power, so she still had a suspicion about Adam''s identity.


    "I see, so what happened after you realized that this tree fragment was already gone? You talked about fighting, are you fine now?" Adam continued to ask questions, but this time, he looked at nca with a face that suggested that he could rte with her in some ways.


    Of course, this was also a way to extort more information from her, by making her confused about his true intentions. "I managed to win against my pursuers but I made a mistake, and before I knew it, things took a bad turn, but as you can see, I managed to survive somehow."nca continued, looking a little bit regretful.


    "It seems like we aren''t the only one who had it rough," Adam said, "but at least, we are still alive. However, I am going to get them out of this ce," he continued, and looked at Zax and Liu, "what about you?" He asked, turning his gaze at nca.


    "I''ve been searching for a way to leave this ce for a while now, but the monsters made things difficult." She said, and there was also the fact that the usage of her power exhausted her quickly, making it impossible for her to activate it for too long, so she couldn''t travel through the air unlike Adam who had the ck cape and Cristal, but she didn''t say it out loud.


    "I know what you mean, I had a hard time too," Adam said, but he was already thinking about nca''s limits and her weakness.


    Then, he deemed that nca was not a big threat unless she was lying and trying to manipte him. After all, he could never be too careful in this world, and this was something that he learned in a very harsh way.<sub> </sub>


    "Okay, I will tell you something. A spaceship is heading to fetch us, but we need to move to another ce where the process won''t be hindered by monsters, so if you want to get out of here, this might be your only chance. However, if something happens to one of them, or I feel that you are not trustworthy enough, I will kill you without fail, are we clear?" Adam said, and unlike before, he showed killing intent.


    "O-okay," nca replied and she was genuinely surprised by what Adam said, but she also felt unwavering resolution in his words. "But how are we going to move from here to another ce?" She continued, sounding like she had already epted the fact that Adam was the leader of their group.


    "Preferably by traveling with a spaceship but it looks like we won''t find such a thing that easily, so I was thinking of returning there and finding a floating vehicle," Adam exined, ignoring nca who looked at him as if he was speaking in a differentnguage.


    "A spaceship? A vehicle? Let''s suppose that you managed to find one and then managed to somehow bring it out of the city, can you even make it fly?" Bianca expressed her doubts, feeling like Adam wasn''tpletely aware of the reality and  began to doubt his capabilities


    "Yeah, it will be hard to find one and get it out of the city, but as long as we do that, I will be able to make it fly," Adam said confidently. "I want you to help me with that, what do you think?" He added, but it was actually because he didn''t want to leave nca alone with Liu while he was gone, and he also wanted to keep an eye on her.


    Moreover, her abilities were useful and appropriate for moving undercover, and more importantly, she was useful against the disgusting monster that guarded the door leading to the secret pathway even as bait, because, at that moment, she didn''t have any value in his eyes.


    Liu was already enough and he even found her hard to deal with, so having another female around was something that he deemed unnecessary.


    "¡­ Okay, I will help," Bianca replied.


    "Great. I am sleepy, so I will sleep for now," Adam said and he sat next to the door again and closed his eyes.


    nca looked like she wanted to ask something but it seemed like Adam was finished with her, leaving her sitting awkwardly on her seat and are her food in silence. Then, she nced at Liu and Zax and wondered about their identity, then she listened to their discussion.


    Zax was still sobbing as she ate her food and Liu tried tofort her, or so it seemed, but Adam knew that she was paying attention to his discussion with nca the whole time.


    "¡­ I thought you were gone¡­ I didn''t know what to do¡­ I couldn''t do anything¡­ I.." Zax mumbled, looking extremely weak.


    "Thanks, Zax. I would never forget what you did for me." Liu said, looking at Zax with gentle eyes. She intentionally talked in a low voice and turned her back to Adam and nca so that they wouldn''t see her face because this was something that she needed to do despite her usual attitude.


    Adam understood Liu''s character a bit more, so he didn''t bother trying to say anything, and instead he took a rest.


    "Miss Liu¡­ Fuuum!" Zax''s face was covered with tears and snot came out of her nose, but as time passed by, she began to regain her usualposure and looked extremely relieved.


    Adam was aware of what was happening and he intentionally left nca alone because of it. He hoped that nca would show some kind of reaction after seeing this scene but it wasn''t like he wanted to have a change of mind after seeing it, he just wanted her to drop her guard so that he could keep her in check.

 Chapter 95 Liu Is A Woman

    Liu wasn''t pleased with the attitude that Adam adopted while talking to nca.


    ''Is he trying to be friendly with her already?'' Liu thought, trying to understand Adam''s action and the reason why he told nca about the spaceship. ''I hope it''s not because she is a woman,'' she noted, because no matter how she looked at it, Adam appeared to have let his guard down around nca even though it was not even confirmed yet that she wasn''t an enemy.


    Moreover, after nca took off the ck coat, her woman charms were revealed and Liu thought that seeing this affected Adam''s judgment, but after noticing that Adam didn''t even take a nce at nca''s body and didn''t hesitate to talk to her with a menacing tone, she quickly dismissed this idea.


    From the look of it, Adam was still the same despite his actions, or so she concluded.


    Nheless, the situation was critical and shouldn''t be taken lightly, so the fact that Adam asked nca to help him made Liu a little bit worried, after all, if something happened to Adam while he was alone with her, Liu understood that it would be hard for her and Zax to deal with the events that had yet to happen, so she felt a little bit concerned about it.


    ''Well, he must have thought about it,'' She thought, ''he seems to be capable of handling this, isn''t he?'' She came to this conclusion after thinking back about the fact that Adam managed to nullify both of their power, an action that answered some of the questions that she had on her mind.


    Besides, she knew that she needed to trust Adam and his decisions from there because it would make things more difficult if they started doubting each other.


    She based her conclusion on the fact that Adam managed to save her and acted in a very rational way despite the situation, so she believed that he wasn''t ying around and had a n to get them out of this situation.


    Nevertheless, she was also thinking about how she would deal with nca if things took a bad turn.


    ''That power was different from a gift,'' Liu assumed, thinking back about nca''s power, ''and I never heard about someone who could manipte their blood to cause such destruction. However, it seems like I could deal with it the way I am now¡­'' She concluded, after recalling everything that she learned about gifts and about the overflowing power that she felting out of her body when she used power to protect herself against nca''s attack.


    Liu wasn''t thinking about antagonizing nca but it was never a bad thing to analyze the information that she had on hand. Never again did she want to feel the emotions that she felt when she faced Rudeus, she told herself, trying to strengthen her determination so that she could face the dilemmas that she had yet to confront.


    These thoughts crossed Liu''s mind as she looked at the petite woman in front of her who was still sobbing. She also felt the need to reconsider her objectives and how she would achieve them because the recent events made her realize that she was still thinking naively.


    Still, it was not the right time to think deeply about such a thing and Liu knew that, so she continued her conversation with Zax.


    "Are you feeling better?" Liu asked, looking at Zax with gentle eyes.


    "Yes. Sorry, I should be the one asking you that question after what happened, and yet¡­" Zax said, looking a little dejected after thinking about how powerless she was this whole time. Despite her looks, she was almost the same age as Liu so what happened made her feel a little bit useless, although she was talented in other areas.


    "¡­ It''s okay. We are friends." Liu said, trying tofort Zax, but she was not good at it and felt a little bit awkward.


    After that, their discussion continued and Liu told Zax about what happened after she passed out.


    "Really? He did that?" Zax asked and looked at Adam who sat next to the door with a surprised look. She was slightly embarrassed by the fact that Adam protected her and carried her all the way here, even though she was useless during the whole fight against Rudeus. If she had a brother, then it would be great if he was like Adam, or so she thought. "I should thank himter¡­" She mumbled as these thoughts crossed her mind.


    "Yes, we should do that, but for now¡­" Liu said, and then continued to tell Zax about what happened until they met nca.


    As Liu continued to speak, Zax''s face became gloomier, and in the end, she had aplex look on her face.


    "So we need to find and repair a ship? Okay, I will help¡­ I am good at repairing things," Zax announced, trying to find a way to be of any help to the group.


    "We know, and we are counting on you," Liu replied as if to say that Zax was never useless.


    "And her?" Zax whispered, and nced at nca.


    "I don''t trust her yet, but I am sure that Adam knows what he is doing," Liu whispered back.<sub> </sub>


    nca just sat there without saying anything, closing her eyes like Adam did, and looked like she was meditating.


    "Miss Liu, do you think that someone as pretty as her can be our enemy?" Zax asked, looking at nca who seemed to be no more than a gorgeousdy when she didn''t move.


    "It''s always better to be careful," Liu said, "and call me Liu from now," she added.


    "O-okay. Is Adam alright though? From what you said, he fought against that monster too¡­ But he was already in a very bad state before we managed to find you," Zax said, thinking back about how Adam''s body was covered in blood and he couldn''t even stand straight.


    Then, she looked at Adam again and saw a man who was in good condition which made her a little bit relieved and worried at the same time. She was the same as Liu and didn''t know what happened to Adam after they lost their consciousness.


    "Is that so¡­ Well, he probably doesn''t want us to worry about it so he decided to not say anything," Liu said, but she was surprised by Zax''s words.


    ''Why did he go through all of that just to save me?'' she wondered because Adam never showed that she cared about her all of this time.


    ''Does he have feelings for me but doesn''t want to show them? But why?'' She thought, looking back at every conversation that she had with Adam. After all, they just meet a few days ago so she didn''t think that they were that close, but if Adam didn''t do that because he loved her, then she couldn''t think about another motive that would push him to go to such an extent for a stranger that he just meet.


    However, Liu knew that it was not also the time to think about that so she quickly dismissed the thought.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    As soon as I closed my eyes, I fell asleep for good and wasn''t even aware of my surroundings anymore.


    Fortunately, I manage to wake up after two hours, and it seemed like nothing bad had happened while I was asleep.


    ''That was bad¡­ It seems like my body gave up," I thought, as looked at Liu and Zax who were talking to each other.


    This was the first time I saw Liu talk this much and it seemed like the circumstances strengthened her friendship with Zax.


    I knew that Liu was very reserved as a person so seeing her like that made me believe that some people weren''t always what they seemed to be, and in Liu''s case, she was a genuinely good person inside and I could tell just by looking at her trying hard to hide her face from me as she talked with Zax. ''Still, I think that there is a reason why she adopted that cold attitude¡­''


    Anyway, I was d that nothing happened while I nked out and it seemed like nca was also more docile than I thought. ''I expected her to talk with Liu though, but it seems like she is sleeping instead¡­ Or what is she doing?''


    ''It should be about 7 PM but I am already hungry, however, the foods that I found will onlyst us two days if we eat three meals a day, we should be able to eat one more canned food each for today,'' I thought, looking at the girls.


    Even though the situation was critical, it would be more dangerous if we didn''t have the energy to survive and fell sick. ''I should find more nutritional foods to avoid that¡­ It will be a pain if one of us falls sick.''


    After thinking about that, I stood up and grabbed the ragged bag then ced the canned foods on the floor and inspected them to make sure that they had not expired yet. The content of these cans was something simr to caviar, but since I had never eaten such food, I didn''t know how if what I ate tasted like caviar or not.


    As soon as I did that, Zax and Liu looked at me with odd faces and stopped talking.


    "Hey Zax, you fine?" I asked, looking at Zax, and then continued to inspect the canned foods.

 Chapter 96 Briefing

    "Okay, let''s talk about what we need to do tomorrow," I said, looking at the girls who seemed a little bit surprised to see me waking up.


    From the look of it, it seemed like Liu informed Zax about the situation so I didn''t have to exin everything from the beginning again.


    However, it seemed like they wanted to ask me some questions, that much I could tell, just by looking at Zax''s face who looked at me as if I was the one who came back from the gate of death. ''It seemed like their discussion made it obvious that I did something to save them while they were unconscious and now they wanted to know my secret.''


    Still, I couldn''t possibly tell them about the tree fragments because I knew that it would make things difficultter on, so as long as it wasn''t an absolute necessity, I would continue to keep them ignorant about what happened. ''But how should I exin about Liu''s power¡­ It looks like she is already aware of the changes that are happening inside of her body.'' I thought, looking at Liu who avoided my eyes.


    When everyone''s attention was focused on me, I continued to inform them about my n. "There is a chance that we will find a repairable floating vehicle or a spaceship tomorrow based on what I saw during my exploration, however, there are some problems that we need to solve whether we find a ship or a vehicle. I will exin the problems now and you can suggest solutions if you can think of something." I said, trying to begin our sort of meeting.


    "¡­" nca nodded at my words without saying anything but she took a nce at Liu and Zax as she did.


    "I will help with the reparations," Zax announced. She looked like she felt a little bit better after talking to Liu but I could tell that there was this lingering fear in her voice. In other words, she was putting up a brave face but I knew that she was traumatized by what happened. I just hoped that she didn''t pass out again after seeing the gigantic monster outside, along with the countless monsters roaming around.


    Liu didn''t say anything and just looked like she had something on her mind but I couldn''t guess what she was thinking about at that moment so I just continued talking.


    "First of all, let''s talk about the first possibility and imagine that we find a spaceship," I went on with my exnation, "in this case, it might take a while to repair it and we need to do it inside of the city so it could be dangerous. Moreover, if we want to take off, we need to fight the flying monsters that might hinder the process."


    The girls looked like they understood what I was talking about but they didn''t seem to be convinced about something.


    nca was the first one whomented. "You talk like it''s easy, but can we even make it inside the city, I mean all of us?" She said, looking at Zax. "Moreover, isn''t it easier to travel by foot, because from the look of it, we are all strong enough to handle a few hundred kilometers while fighting monsters?" She said, insinuating that we didn''t need to find a spaceship.


    "¡­" Liu didn''t say anything and looked at me as if she was waiting to see how I would deal with nca since she certainly had a point.


    "That might be true, but because we don''t know about the state of things around the, it would be bad if the number of monsters exceeds our capabilities. Moreover, we will need to worry about food, about a ce to sleep when nightes, and also about other factors like our mental state and physical state if we continue without resting, all of these things cannot be predicted which will lower the probability of sess." I exined, "And so you know it, Zax doesn''t have any power, so even if we don''t have the choice but to do that, leaving her behind is out of the question, or do you have any problem with that?" I said, knowing that Cristal could help with all of that but there was something that I didn''t like about her suggestion and it wasn''t like I didn''t consider it to begin with.


    "No, I understand," Bianca answered and closed her eyes, looking like she was thinking about something.


    Without considering Zax, nca''s suggestion was the most realistic choice, because the three of us, Liu, nca, and I were strong enough to travel at a very quick pace, taking advantage of Cristal''s help we could avoid monsters, but with Zax added into the equation, there were a lot of things that could happen and I didn''t like the sound of it because this one time, I was the one who agreed to bring Zax her and so I needed to take the responsibility and keep her safe. ''Only this time though¡­ I will never make this mistake again.''


    "Okay. So as I said, it would be dangerous, but the advantage of this scenario is that we can directly leave the and meet up with the others. Of course, the sess of this n depends on our luck and two deciding factors: One, we find a spaceship, and two, we can repair it. I know that it is dangerous, but you need to understand that we wouldn''t be able to get out of this situation if we don''t take some risks. Do you have any questions or suggestions?" I said.<sub> </sub>


    "No, but I think your n requires a lot of lucky urrences which makes it uncertain," Liu said and she had a point.


    "I know, but almost everything that seems doable to get us out of this situation depends on luck. We need the luck to find a spaceship, but we also need luck if we traveled on foot." I said, and I even thought about the possibility of going to the meeting point alone and then returning here to pick up the girls with the others but it was even more dangerous.


    Moreover, the possibility of them sending people to pick us up from here was unlikely because for a while now, I was a little suspicious about the identity of the person who sent us those messages.


    ''If it was Timothy and the others, they would put their life on the line to save Liu and would probably ask about our situation constantly because they should be worried about her, but they didn''t, and that made me think twice so I prioritized finding a spaceship. After all, It''s probable that it''s not because they don''t want to, but because they can''t¡­ And if that was the case, then something happened." I thought, looking back at the conclusion that I reached while thinking about a way to get everyone out of this situation.


    Still, I decided to keep this theory to myself.


    "Moreover," I continued, "if things don''t go as nned, we can hide from the monsters as long as we are inside the city. Earlier, I found a room that could potentially lead to a safe location underground, which brings me to the next scene. If we can''t find a spaceship and find a floating vehicle instead, then this is what we should do..."


    I proceeded to exin the next possibility. "First, repairing a vehicle should be easier than repairing a ship we should be able to finish the reparations quickly, but in this scenario, we need to obtain more water and food. And when we ride it, the three of us need to take the monsters out of the way until we get out of the city. However, even though it''s not as advantageous as having a spaceship, traveling a floating vehicle would be more effective than on foot, if we consider the factors that I mentioned earlier."


    After hearing my exnation, the girls didn''t even look like they thought that my ns could work and they just looked at me with odd eyes, mostly Liu.


    I know why they had such reactions but as far as I was concerned, I was more troubled about the thought that the people who came to fetch us would change their minds or fail to reach the meeting point, so I couldn''t discard the thought of finding a spaceship even if the chances were low. ''When ites to it, we could at least travel to another city on the floating vehicle and search for ships there if we couldn''t find one here¡­''


    "Don''t worry," I said, looking at Liu and Zax, "I will be the one to explore the city and find these things, so for tomorrow, you can try to recover your strength."


    "Well, we don''t have much of a choice," Liu said, looking like she was also thinking about the situation as much as I did.


    However, I wondered if she reached the same conclusion as me.


    I didn''t say it to the girls but from the look of it, we didn''t have that much time. The gigantic monster looked like it was about to do something and I couldn''t tell when it would make its move, making it dangerous to travel on foot, or to be precise, to stay on this any longer.


    ''In any case, this is doomed¡­'' I thought, epting the harsh reality.

 Chapter 97 Briefing (Part 2)

    "Do you follow me?" I asked, trying to make sure that the girls had at least understood our priority. "In summary, all we need to do is find a ship or a vehicle, repair it, and get out of here."


    "Yes, it sounds simple when you say it that way," Zax said, trying to lighten up the mood, and if I had to guess why, then it was certainly because Liu looked at me with odd eyes.


    "Well, let''s try and see," nca said, looking at me as if she was trying to tell me that she would rethink her position if this n failed, or so I guessed.


    I didn''t show any reaction on my face and just nodded at nca''s words but various thoughts crossed my mind when I thought about her. ''Why is she still here?'' I thought, trying to think more about her situation. ''If she regained her consciousness months ago, why didn''t she leave this area and moved to another ce? Was it because she couldn''t do it or because she didn''t want to do it? There is something that she is still hiding...''


    "Well, we can''t do anything much for now but it seems like we can still eat one more canned food today, so pick one from these. I don''t know about their content but they''re edible." I said, pointing at the canned foods and trying to end the discussion there because I thought that revealing too much information would be counterproductive and in the end, it would be me who would do the actual job, after all, I couldn''t rely on the girls that much, knowing that they were too unpredictable.


    ''There is Liu and her power, Zax and her trauma, and also nca and her unclear intentions.'' I couldn''t possibly put my life in their hands so I had to take care of this even if I had to do it alone.


    But after I said these words, Liu showed a weird reaction and I knew what she was thinking about.


    "Don''t worry, we can still obtain more canned foods," I said, trying to test if my thoughts were urate but as I thought, Liu''s expression didn''t change so I knew that there was something that spurred such a reaction from her.


    "Do you have something to say, Liu?" I asked.


    "Not really." She replied and grabbed two canned foods for her and Zax then sat on top of the bed, giving me her back again.


    ''What''s her problem,'' I thought, ''or did she not understand my exnation? Well, if it''s not that then...''


    Liu was suspicious of me and the reason was simple. She knew that I didn''t tell her everything and since I would bring nca with me the next day, she thought that nca would learn something that she didn''t, or so I guessed from her rection. ''Well, it may be just my imagination too... I am still wondering how did I end up in this mental state. Well, I know how it happened, but I just feel extremely different, mentally, emotionally, and physically.''


    "You won''t eat?" I asked, looking at nca after thinking about Liu''s puzzling reaction.


    "..." nca didn''t answer and just pretended to not hear me.


    "It''s okay, I am not trying to feed you poison or anything," I said, sounding a bit sarcastic, "and I won''t make fun of you even if you look like a little girl when you eat it."


    After I said these words, I could see nca''s eyelids twitching and her face turned a bit red.


    ''Why is adopting the prideful act now?'' I thought, looking at the woman in front of me. It seemed like after I looked at her with an amused face while she was eating earlier, she thought that I was trying to exploit her hunger and use it against her.


    "Here." I handed her a can and she awkwardly took it from me and then opened it.


    "Cristal and I will keep guard for the night so after you eat, you can rest, and you really should, because there''s no telling what would happen tomorrow," I said and then sat next to the door again.


    "Okay." Liu and Zax said.


    nca didn''t say anything and tried to eat like a noble for some reason. ''Did my words bother her that much?''


    After that, time passed quickly and as I sat there listening to Liu and Zax''s conversation, it was already midnight and the girls seemed to have fallen asleep.


    ''Of course, they are asleep.'' I thought, ''Canned food wasn''t the only thing I brought back after my exploration.''


    "This is quite effective," I mumbled, looking at the colorless liquid that could be used as a sleeping potion. I didn''t know why the owner of that building kept such a thing inside that storage but it seemed like an odorless and colorless potion like this was quite rare.


    I had already told Cristal to analyze the content of the cans and the liquor before I came back so I knew that it would not harm the girls.


    "I need them to rest for now," I said, and I walked toward Liu who was sleeping in a very strange position on the bed.<sub> </sub>


    It seemed like she didn''t want to sleep so she tried hard to stay awake but the potion was too effective.


    I grabbed her in my arms and put her next to Zax and then used my cape to cover the two of them.


    nca slumped on the flower and slept deeply, looking like apletely different person.


    I took her and put her on the floor next to the bed and covered her with the ck coat that she wore when she first appeared. ''The bed is too small, unfortunately...'' I thought.


    [Miss Liu will scold you if she knows about this.]


    "I know, but her mental state is important too since it''s just the first day. I am not sure how long we will have to stay here but having three mentally exhausted people will lower our chance of survival." I said, admitting that Cristal''s prediction was unavoidable. After all, Liu already looked a little bit displeased when I didn''t tell her everything.


    I knew that she wanted to trust me but my actions didn''t give her enough reason topletely believe in me.


    Nevertheless, there were things that she didn''t need to know, at least until I gather more information on various things, so I made sure that her attention was focused on what I hid from her and she wouldn''t realize what was already happening.


    [Master, I received another message saying that it would be difficult for them toe here, so if they weren''t sure that Liu is alive, they wouldn''t take a risk. Thus, they are asking to speak with her.]


    Cristal examined the message and tranted its true meaning to me so I knew that even though we were already in a pinch, these people seemed to hesitate about the authenticity of our im. "Thanks for sparing me the details. Still, this could be more of a pain than I expected."


    ''As of now, I shouldn''t draw any conclusion too fast because I didn''t know what really happened. There is the possibility that Timothy and the others stayed at the Empire... Still, there are also concerning issues rted to this scenario. In the end, I need to make it possible for us to leave this even if after some unfortunate circumstances these people decide to change their minds.'' I thought as I sat down on the floor and began to meditate.


    "Okay, let''s begin."


    [Roger.]


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    The next day, Liu woke up in a brusque way. "No! I..." She shouted, but before she finished her sentence, she understood that she was dreaming.


    It took her a few moments to collect her thoughts and bepletely aware of her surrounding, and as she did, she realized that she slept next to Zax, and a ck cape covered both of them.


    ''I fell asleep? How could I?'' She thought and then looked at the man who was the owner of this cape.


    "It''s only around  6 in the morning. Slept well?" Adam said as he prepared what looked like breakfast, looking like he guessed Liu''s thoughts.


    After hearing Adam''s words, Liu was a little bit shocked because she slept for a few hours and let her guard downpletely.


    "It''s fine. Nothing happened and all of us needed to rest after what happened. It will be more troublesome if one of us falls sick now." Adam continued after looking at Liu''s reaction, once again, as if he guessed Liu''s thought.


    After that, the ck cape moved by itself and flew toward Adam then put itself on his back.


    "Hungh..." Zax grumbled, feeling a little bit cold after the cape took off and she needed a few seconds to recall everything that had happened, but when she did, she woke abruptly.


    Hearing Adam''s voice nca suddenly stood up and unlike her sleeping face, her attitude reverted to what appeared to be an attitude of a proud woman.


    "Okay, let''s eat and then talk about today''s n," Adam said and he looked different than how he was the day before which surprised Liu once again, but like before, she couldn''t tell what changed.

 Chapter 98 The Hidden Area (Part 1)

    "Okay, listen to me carefully," I said with a serious tone, looking at nca who floated next to me. "You will hear my voice and see the basicyout of the city that I have explored through the helmet so there''s no need to worry about monsters as long as we can''t avoid them, but from here, you need my instructions without asking any question and you don''t have the choice. Is that clear?"


    "I know, you don''t have to repeat it again and again," nca said, looking a little bit annoyed but after I looked at her with an emotionless face, she pretended to adjust her helmet.


    I was still thinking that bringing was too dangerous because with her around, the number of things that I couldn''t predict increased and it was not a good thing.


    Still, I couldn''t leave her with Liu and Zax, just in case she decided to say something that Liu didn''t need to know and they would begin to fight because of that.


    Besides, I wasn''t finished extracting information from her, and from the look of it, she could probably be the key for me to understanding a lot of things rted to what was happening in different universes.


    Then again, I wondered if all of this was just a coincidence as I looked at the woman in front of me. ''Thest boss talked about a mysterious entity and I also concluded that some of the things that happened and are happening to me were not pure coincidence, and there must be someone behind these unbelievable circumstances. The question was, how much was he involved in all of this and how long will he stay involved? Was the destruction of the party of his n, and if so, for what purpose?'' I needed answers because if that was really the case, then I had a formidable enemy to take care of but my strength was stillcking.


    "Let''s go," I said and nca followed me as I was thinking about these things. I knew that I might be thinking too much about it and going too far with my imagination but it seemed like the Holy Church wasn''t the only thing that I should be wary of, even if there was certainly a connection between all of them.


    "Are we going that way?" nca asked and I knew what she was trying to ask even if she used different words.


    "Unlike most people believe, these monsters actually don''t like hiding in dark ces or caves where they wait patiently for someone toe instead, they seem to like challenging stronger opponents and exploring new areas, so they rarely stay in a ce that looks boring," I exined, trying to share what I found out during my exploration. "In other words, we wille across fewer monsters if we follow this path."


    "I see," nca replied with an emotionless voice, but it seemed like she didn''t even think of that.


    We followed a path through a rocky region next to the city wall and as expected, there were only rocks. The monsters didn''t seem to like this ce and they preferred roaming around the city or the forest where they found various things to distract themselves with. ''These monsters seem intelligent but from what I could see, it''s only at the level of a little kid. Still, it''s dangerous to underestimate them, simr to little kids who give adults hard time.'' I thought.


    "Before we reach the city, tell me about what can you do with your power and about your limits," I said.


    "What? You¡­" As expected, nca was surprised by my words and looked like she didn''t want to reveal anything.


    "Don''t misunderstand me. You already know about my power and I showed you my hidden cards," I said, pointing at the helmet and the cape, "so I want to know what you can do and what you can''t do before I decide how we should handle things from here. I think it''s a reasonable request because we are working to survive, or is there a particr reason why you can''t say it?"


    "Okay, I will tell you," nca said, understanding what I was implying in myst sentence. "My blood can disintegrate almost everything thates in contact with it. I can also control it to produce other useful skills like I am doing now."


    "I see. And howrge is the area in which you can control it?" I asked.


    "I am not sure, maybe thirty meters."


    "And how long can you use your power without stopping?"


    "It depends. I could probably use it all day if I take a break at regr intervals." Bianca answered, looking like she wasn''t feeling sure if it was a good idea to tell me all of that and if I was in her ce, I would never reveal my real trump card so I was sure that she had some other trump cards.


    However, looking at her, I was wondering if she even thought about such a thing, because she looked like she was extremely confident in her ability.


    ''Well, it''s not every day that you met someone who can use antimatter,'' I thought, thinking about the chance that someone who had a power simr to mine existed. ''But such a person must be a pain to deal with so I hope I won''t have to deal with someone like that.''


    "Okay, your power will be useful for what we are about to do, and with a bit of luck, we will manage to find a spaceship today," I said and gestured for nca to quicken the pace.<sub> </sub>


    Her power would be helpful when we deal with the tentacle monster if it could do what she said it could do. ''Disintegrate things huh¡­ Sounds familiar to the effect of the antimatter. Is this really a coincidence? The more I learn about nca, the more I feel like I am given a lot of hints and I can''t say I like it because it would mean that there are beings who can also use power derived from the primordial authority of Destruction and honestly, powers rted to this authority are bad news. After all, it could kill me instantly if I wasn''t strong enough to overwhelm the user as I did with nca.''


    Groar!


    After hearing the noise, I signaled nca with my hand and we stopped.


    "We are near the wall so there are few monsters here," I exined, then pointed at a hole somewhere on the wall. "I made that hole yesterday and it leads to an underground passage, that was why we needed to make a detour."


    "But what about the monsters?" nca asked.


    "I need you to remember a few things. One, as long as we can avoid fighting monsters, we don''t fight them. Two, what we need is patience and the ability to stay calm no matter what happens. Three, we need to make use of what we have efficiently. Like this¡­" I said and then threw three empty cans somewhere in the area which made a loud sound that attracted the monsters.


    "Now!" I said, and then we rushed towards the hole.


    Swoosh!


    "Wait, hide here!" I ordered, grabbing nca by her hips.


    Roar!


    As I expected the monsters noticed us and followed from behind, rushing at the hole that I made on the wall but as soon as one of them crossed it, its body was cut into pieces, and seeing this, the other monsters hesitated a bit but when they did, my sword pierced their head.


    "Now!" I said and we rushed toward a building and immediately went down to the basement and then to the underground pathway that lead to the tentacles monster.


    "What did you do?" nca asked.


    "I used some useful trick to kill them," I replied, thinking about how I used a new version of my weapon.


    After exploring the city the day before, I realized that my sword was hard to control, so I decided to add more variation to it. For example, a wire-like weapon that could deal with a lot of monsters all at once because, in the end, I just needed that the monsters came in contact with the antimatter to kill them.


    Of course, it wasn''t as strong as the sword but it was more flexible and I could make it so thin that the monsters didn''t even notice it as I controlled it with my thoughts. ''This glove looks cool and I feel I am some kind of assassin. Well, at least it''s effective.''


    "Let''s proceed," I said.


    "¡­" nca didn''t say anything and just followed me but I knew that she was wary of me after learning that I had some other trump cards.


    Her reaction became a little bit more predictable but I could be wrong so I never tried to base my strategies on these predictions unless it was unavoidable.


    "There is a particr monster ahead and we need to take care of it if we want to proceed," I said.

 Chapter 99 The Hidden Area (Part 2)

    :::[Third Person POV]:::


    After Adam and nca left, Liu and Zax discussed the changes in Adam''s attitude.


    "So what do you think?" Liu said, trying to inquire Zax''s opinion on the matter because she was there with Adam during the time she was abducted.


    "I feel like he is hiding something from us because he avoids bringing up the topic," Zax replied, thinking back about their discussion with Adam.


    "I see. Is it because he doesn''t trust us?" Liu said, looking a little bit concerned about the situation because there must be a reason why Adam decided to not share certain information with them.


    As a person who had some secrets herself, Liu knew how crucial some information could be depending on the circumstances.


    ''Why is he trying to do everything by himself?'' Liu thought, looking back at Adams''s decision to go to the city by himself.


    "I don''t think that he doesn''t trust us. I think something happened to him when we passed out and made him more¡­ how to say it¡­"


    "Pessimistic?"


    "I would choose the word ''careful.''" Zax said.


    "Even so, the way he said it sounded like he was implying that we are useless so he has to do everything alone," Liu said, looking a little displeased after thinking about how Adam had more or less told them to wait for him to find a solution for everything by himself.


    "Maybe he is just worried about what happened and thought that it''s better to keep us safe," Zax said, and even though she wasn''t even sure if that was the case, she couldn''t stand seeing Liu and Adam like that because she liked them both and believed that Adam cared for Liu even if he didn''t show it to her for some reason.


    "You think so? It doesn''t appear to be something like that to me." Liu retorted but at least she didn''t think that Adam had bad intentions and she just thought that it was something rted to the power that she acquired miraculously.


    ''Does he think that I am too unstable? Or is he confident that he could handle everything by himself? I can somehow understand why he brought that woman with him and his arguments made sense but I still felt like he didn''t even include us in his ns.'' Liu thought, trying to understand Adam''s decisions.


    "Well, I am sure that he will manage to deal with this situation like he did when he saved you so let''s trust him for now, and as he exined, we should avoid moving in a group to reduce the probability of being spotted by the monster." Zax tried to take Adam''s defense, looking at Liu who didn''t look pleased by how Adam did things.


    She knew that Liu was a stubborn person who didn''t like it when someone took care of a serious problem that involved her life in her ce.


    Moreover, Adam''s exnation sounded logical and reasonable but the problem was that Liu didn''t like it when she had to wait and feel anxious because simr to Adam, she wanted to do everything by herself.


    "I hope so," Liu said but uneasiness showed on her face and she asked herself if everything would be alright.


    She didn''t want to admit it but until now, Adam handled things better than she would have, making her feel like she was depending too much on him.


    However, Liu wasn''t stupid enough to try something that could bring harm to Zax so she didn''t go anywhere and stayed inside the house as Adam expected.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    I knew that we were going across a kind of sewer system but I still felt like throwing up.


    ''What the hell is this? That monster looks like it''s infecting the whole area.'' I thought, looking at the walls that were covered with disgusting substances.


    After we made sure that were not followed, we halted a bit and I began to exin to nca what we were about to do next.


    "It''s dark here so we need to be cautious," I said, looking at the two cubes that illuminated the surrounding. "From here you need to remember these signals because as I said, I need these two cubes when I fight so we can''t use them as helmets. Is that clear?"


    "Okay."


    "Good, now listen carefully. There is a particr monster ahead and it has many tentacles that react to sounds and movements." I said, beginning to exin how we would take care of the tentacle monster. "But I believe that its weakness is its cores so while I neutralize the tentacles, you have to use your power to take care of its main body. Then when the cores are exposed, I will destroy them quickly before it regenerates. And we also need to make sure that it doesn''t regenerate even after the cores are destroyed because I suspect that the monster will certainly try something if it feels that its life is threatened and as you can see, this whole area is part of its body, so we need to make sure that such a thing doesn''t happen by destroying its remains. To put it simply, all you have to do is destroy it with your power. Do you follow me?"


    "Yes¡­" nca said, looking at me like I was some kind of weirdo.<sub> </sub>


    ''Did I talk too much and she didn''t understand it?'' I thought but since we couldn''t discuss it for too long, I just left it at that. ''In the first ce, I didn''t need her help but since she is here, might as well use her for now and economize my power for more desperate situations. Well, I can''t leave her to die too because it would be a pain if she died now.''


    "Okay, let''s go now," I said gesturing nca to follow me.


    We moved forward at a slow pace but we made sure to be aware of our surroundings so it was inevitable.


    The more we approached the monster''s main body, the more we felt that there was something mixed with air in the environment. After realizing this, I gestured for nca to cover her mouth and nose just in case it was something that affected the body.


    Then I used my hand to signal nca that we were close to the monster and we needed to stop.


    We took a peek at the monster while making sure that the tentacles didn''t detect our presence, then I pointed at the main body and with the help of hand gestures, I told nca that we will begin attacking after I counted until three.


    ''One, two, three.'' After that, I rushed forward and activated my power.


    "Kreeek!"


    The tentacles made intimidating sounds and tried to attack me with their mouth but as soon as I activated my power, they stayed frozen in ce.


    "Swoosh!"


    As I expected, nca''s power was very effective against the tentacles and decimated them in no time after she created two crimson red tornadoes with her blood.


    Still, the main body was tough and the red liquids inside of it overflowed out when nca''s power damaged its carapace. However, it took a little bit more time for her to destroy the main body, unlike how she dealt with the tentacles.


    "Sssssss!"


    Fortunately, I didn''t use Cristal to attack the body because a huge hole was left on the ground after the liquid fell on it.


    Of course, I didn''t miss that chance when the cores were exposed and instantly used my new weapon to grab the cores and destroyed them into pieces.


    The wires that I created were very thin but they were still as effective as the sword when ites to destruction power even if theycked brute strength and were pretty useless if I couldn''t control them with my thoughts using my spiritual body.


    "Now, finish it!" I said.


    After nca heard my words, she used her power to destroy the remaining tentacles and the main body.


    "Sssssshhh!"


    As if roaring mes were burning the monster, nca''s power began to decimate it, and soon, there was nothing left apart from the disgusting substances on the wall.


    And as I expected, after the monster''s body was taken care of, a huge metallic door appeared in front of us.


    Without any dy, I used my sword to open the door.


    ng!


    "It seems like we are not lucky," nca said after looking at what was beyond the door.


    "Yeah," I said, feeling a little bit disappointed myself, "but this is not what we are interested in."


    I entered the room and unfortunately, it was empty and I couldn''t even find a single can of food.


    ''It seems like someone had passed by this room before us.'' I thought, looking at the state of the room.


    From the look of it, it seemed like someone took all of the things that were stored inside of this room and they came here at least a few times. ''I might be thinking too much about this but I think that there are still some survivors Somewhere in this city ¡­ The question is, what did they do when they ran out of food?" I wondered.

 Chapter 100 The Hidden Area (Part 3)

    "What are you going to do now?" Bianca asked, looking at me with doubtful eyes.


    She probably thought that there was nothing more special about the empty room and I could understand why she would feel that way.


    "As I said, there be something that could help us somewhere beyond these walls but I don''t want to destroy it so I am trying to find the proper to open the door that leads there," I said, continuing to inspect the walls and every corner of the room.


    I hoped to find a kind of switch somewhere inside the room because that was the only way to open the door without destroying the wall.


    ''This could lead to a safer ce where we could hide from the monsters while preparing the ship so I can''t risk destroying it. Well, I just hope that monsters didn''t already go beyond these walls¡­'' I thought, examining the weird cubic shapes on the wall.


    The wall didn''t have a t surface and it looked as if it was made by putting together thousands of rectangr and cubic stones.


    "This is it," I said looking at a spot on the wall and touching a particr stone on the wall.


    "Did you find something?" Bianca asked and approached me. It seemed like she had also tried to examine the wall after hearing my exnation but she couldn''t find anything.


    "There is slightly a bigger gap between the stones around this spot," I exined, "and there could be a reason for that."


    After saying these words, I put on my helmet and looked at the spot using x-ray vision and other types of scanners.


    Unfortunately, the walls were too thick to see through but at least, I could see that the door was next to the spot where the gap was.


    "Okay, there are a few things that we need to consider if we want to proceed," I said, noticing nca who looked curious to see what was beyond the door. "First, I am not sure if this door will make loud noises so we are taking a big risk by opening it. We won''t be able to avoid fighting monsters if it makes noises as we can expect a lot of theming after us, making it hard to leave from here if we want to get outter unless we find another way out."


    "Yes, you are right. We also don''t know what''s beyond this portal so we have to be ready either way." Bianca said and I was a bit d to see that she was actually listening to me. I didn''t think that she was stupid but sometimes she looked like she didn''t want to follow my instructions.


    "That''s right. I don''t know who took all of the stuff here but from the look of it, we can expect to see some survivor or some dead bodies." I said, but I knew that either way, it would create more problems for us. "Don''t forget, keep your calm no matter what happens, okay?"


    "Yeah, I know," nca replied.


    "Well, like before, Cristal will go ahead of us so we will be always prepared," I said, "but how are you feeling? Do you feel something wrong about your body?"


    I asked nca this question because of the weird substance that was mixed in the air. I didn''t want her to put on a tough act and mess up the whole n after suddenly feeling weak.


    "No, I am more or less immune to anything because of my blood," nca answered with a strange reaction.


    ''Does she think that I am worrying too much about the little details?'' I thought, but I felt like my current intelligence and analyzing ability wasn''t enough if I wanted to be someone that could face any kind of situation.


    "I see, but tell me immediately if you don''t feel well or you run out of strength." I reminded nca.


    "Okay."


    "Alright, let''s do this," I said and tried to push one of the stones but it didn''t move.


    Realizing that my first approach was wrong, I grabbed the stone and pulled it out and this time, the stone moved but nothing else happened.


    "Is it stuck?" Bianca said, keeping her eyes on the door behind me as I instructed. Fortunately, it seemed like other monsters didn''t want toe to this area even after we killed the tentacle monster probably because of the disgusting substance on the wall.


    "No, it seems like there''s more to it. This looks like some kind of a puzzle but I wonder what would happen if someone needed to ess this room in a hurry," I said, but I knew that the purpose of this puzzle was to keep the ess to this pathway secure.


    "Hey, can I ask you a question?" nca said, and I was curious about what she was going to ask me.<sub> </sub>


    "Yeah, what is it?"


    "Is that woman your lover?"


    "And why do you ask such a question now?"


    "Well, you are too overprotective of her even though you treat me differently," nca said.


    "I know what you are trying to do so I won''t answer this kind of question," I said, realizing nca''s intentions, "and don''t even think about saying something weird to her because I won''t hesitate to kill you."


    "What? I was just curious." nca replied, looking a little bit displeased by my menace, then she stayed quiet and appeared to be thinking about something.


    I didn''t expect her to ask such a thing and it seemed like she was a little bit smarter than I thought she was.


    ''Trying to use my rtionship with Liu to threaten me huh¡­ I wonder when she begins to have such a thought. She didn''t appear to be the person who use such a trick, or is it just my imagination? Well, if she was that cunning, she wouldn''t have asked me such a question in the first ce but I am sure that she has something in mind.'' I thought and continued to solve the puzzle in front of me.


    "Okay, it should be like this," I said, pushing the stone upward.


    Then, something urred and the stones on the wall retracted and a space that looked like a door appeared on the wall but there was still no way to ess the pathway because another wall appeared.


    "Well, that was too easy for a puzzle so it seems they decided to add another one," Imented.


    "Well, at least it didn''t make a loud noise," nca said.


    ? "I think this one will make a lot of noise though," I said and examined the wall in front of me. "There seems to be some kind of metallic keyboard and even though there is no number of letters on them, it seems like we need to find the rightbination to open the door."


    "How can we find something like that here?" nca said.


    "Don''t worry, I expected something like this, knowing that I will be dealing with something simr to a safe, so I searched the building and found a smaller vault that has the same lock system," I said, inputting the rightbination consisting. "It took time but dismantled it and with Cristal''s help I was able to determinate which keys were used the most and in which order they were used by looking at the state of its innerponents."


    Crack!


    The massive door made a noisy sound before sliding slowly to the right.


    Vrrrrrrrr!


    The room trembled slightly but it wasn''t as noisy as I expected. ''Well this is a building in the middle of the city so it would be weird if there was an earthquake every time someone opened this door,'' I thought.


    "Still, the monsters wille here soon because they are more sensitive to noise and vibration than humans. Let''s proceed before that happens." I said and Cristal''s two cubic parts brightened revealing a stairway.


    nca followed me and after I stepped on the first staircase, the door behind us closed. "It seems like this will open the door from inside," Imented, thinking that going out was easier than going in.


    "I wonder why something like this exists. It must be because some people were doing something evil here." nca said, and she was probably right because there were dark organizations in this world like everywhere else.


    "Yeah, it''s highly probable," I answered back.


    After hearing nca''s words the words Holy Church crossed my mind and I couldn''t help but wonder about that woman known as the Holy Mother. "Why do I feel like she was evil even though she was supposed to be a saint?" I thought, but I knew that I wouldn''t find the answer to this question at the ce where we were heading so I decided to not think about the topic and focus on what we could find ahead.


    "I have a bad feeling about this," nca said and her words surprised me.

 Chapter 101 The Hidden Are (Part 4)

    "What can you see ahead?" I asked.


    [ A few people must have been part of the organization who built this pathway, because I came across other doors leading here.]


    "It seems like we will be able to move around the city without monsters noticing us if we use these doors," I said, but I began to get concerned about what we would see ahead of us.


    Also, it seemed like things looked only peaceful on the surface and even my father couldn''t do anything about the organization like this. ''Or did he know about the existence of it?'' I thought, supposing that this ce was where the Nobles held their meetings. ''Well, it''s useless to think about that now.''


    "Yeah, but the path is a bit narrow and it''s dark inside," Bianca said and I felt that she was a big close to me.


    "You are not a fan of dark ces, aren''t you?" I asked, not trying to make fun of her or anything. I just wanted to take into consideration her state of mind as we progressed.


    "No, it''s just that¡­"


    "ustrophobic?"


    "What? us..?" nca didn''t seem to understand the meaning of my word.


    "It means that you are notfortable with narrow spaces. Is that the case?" I exined.


    "Yeah¡­ A little, but I can manage so don''t look at me like that." She said after I stopped and looked at her.


    It seemed like she didn''t want to say it and keep it a secret from me. ''So she wasn''t curious about what''s beyond the door when she looked at it earlier¡­ It was because of this.'' I thought, feeling like I began to know more about the woman in front of me even though it wasn''t my intention.


    "Okay," I said and continued to move forward.


    Because of her Pride, nca didn''t want to show any weakness but I felt like sometimes her character was inconsistent. It was as if she was a young girl who tried to act like a grown-up woman. ''Well, when she doesn''t say anything, she looks like some kind of noble but now, I just think that she is a na?ve girl¡­ Is it just my imagination? It could be also a farce so I won''t be fooled either way.''


    "Let''s talk as we walk," I said, "because the silence would make you more anxious.


    "Talk? About what?" Bianca looked a little bit surprised by my suggestion.


    "You came to this to retrieve something, right?"


    "Yeah."


    "A fragment of the Tree of Life, right?"


    "What!? How did you¡­ Ah!" nca was surprised but then she realized that her reaction was the confirmation that I needed.


    "I was just wondering why you haven''t left this country yet and searched for other survivors even though you could do so. There is something that you are still searching for, right? What is it? Depending on the circumstances I might even help you." I said, trying to imply that since our goals aligned, I will help her.


    "How did you know about the fragments? Were you lying when you said that you are not one of us?" nca said.


    "No, I didn''t lie, but I am a little bit familiar with these fragments because they were the reason why we are in this situation," I said, "but I don''t know what exactly these fragments are. Do you have any idea, it may help us to get out of this situation.


    "I¡­ I lost something extremely precious and I also lost the fragments that were in my possession¡­ I couldn''t find them anywhere." Bianca said, looking a little bit remorseful.


    "I see. Are these fragments that important to you?" I asked.


    "Yeah¡­" nca muttered looking like she didn''t want to talk about it.


    ''However, it seemed like she gave up on searching for them. Is there a reason for that too,'' I thought but I didn''t ask. ''No matter how much I look at her, she doesn''t seem to be a bad person at all. However, as far as I am concerned, these fragments were the source of all of my problems so I needed to put an end to all of them before it destroys mepletely. But this nca''s reasons seem to be different from mine.'' I pondered.


    After that, nca didn''t say anything more and I didn''t ask, knowing that asking her too many questions would have a negative effect so I tried to change my approach.


    "Are you married?" I asked.


    "Anh? No, but why do you ask about such a thing at a time like this?" Bianca said, looking like she didn''t expect my question.


    ''What''s that reaction though, that was just a casual question.'' I thought.


    "No, I just thought that your family would be quite worried about you by now," I said.


    "Yeah¡­ I miss my sister." nca said sounding a little affectionate.<sub> </sub>


    "You have a sister? I don''t have any siblings. What kind of person is she?"


    "Yes I have a sister and she is kind and intelligent. She is brighter than me in every way even though I am older than her." nca answered.


    "I bet she says that about you too. It sounds like you were close. Did shee here with you?" I asked.


    "Yeah, I love her. About that¡­ I don''t know where is she now. We came here together but we got separated."


    "What happened? Did something happens with the portal that you used toe here?"


    "I am not sure what happened¡­ I¡­" nca said, sounding like she med herself for what happened.


    "We will get out of this mess and you can go find your sister after. I will help you with that if I can¡­" I said, knowing that feeling regrets weren''t always a bad thing as long as she learned from these mistakes.


    "Mmm."


    When I said these words, I didn''t have any hidden attention but I just hoped that nca wasn''t pretending because if she was, I was sure that I would probably kill her instantly.


    [Master, I found something.]


    Cristal''s report changed the atmosphere and nca and I instantly had serious looks on our faces.


    "What did you find?" I asked because I felt like we walked for a while without finding anything out of the ordinary.


    The walls on both sides of the narrow passage were made of stone and it was cold to the touch but apart from that, there was nothing noteworthy about it. There were no weird patterns inscribed on it and there were no deadly traps.


    [It''s a dead body.]


    "A dead body?" Bianca said, looking like he was on her guard.


    There were a lot of possibilities that caused the death of this person but the fact that he died on this narrow pathway made it more concerning.


    "Let''s proceed with caution," I said, "we don''t know what happened but it''s not a good a good sign."


    "Okay."


    We continued to advance and soon, we could see Cristal and the dead body of a person who looked like they were trying to run away from something.


    "Let''s inspect the body for now. There should be clues that will help us determine what we should expect from here." I said and put on my gloves.


    I asked nca to stand back before approaching the body. Then I activated my power just in case, then I covered my mouth as I squatted down.


    "Cristal, continue moving and report back as soon as you see something," I said.


    [Roger.]


    "Let''s see. It seems like this person was dead for a long time. He is a male and he looks like he was in his thirties. His clothes are covered with blood but what is this? His skin has a weird color and what is this ck substanceing from his mouth¡­ I have seen this before." I said, examining the body.


    "It reminds me of the disgusting substance on the walls of the sewer," Biancamented.


    "Yeah, you are right," I said and nced at nca who was close to me.


    The dead person was affected by an unknown substance but why did he run away? Was it because they were being pursued by someone who discovered what was happening? No that was unlikely because if that was the case, there should be more bodies here and the should be a hint of struggle.


    "Mmm, there''s blood on the wall but it seems like it belongs to this person," I said, examining the surrounding because I didn''t want to touch the body any further. "Anyway, let''s make sure that it''s dead."


    Thud!


    I used my sword to decimate the body''s head just in case it turned into something simr to a zombie. ''It''s not rare to see these kinds of scenarios when the body looks like this.''


    "It seems like we can expect undead or another tentacle monster ahead but we can''t turn back now," I said, preparing my mind to see something extremely disturbing.

 Chapter 102 The Hidden Are (Part 5)

    nca and I continued moving forward and as we did, I began to feel the humidity in the atmosphere and there was a sort of vapors obstructing the view.


    "It seems like this won''t be easy after all," I said, examining the walls as I began to see changes in our surroundings as we advanced. "This smell alone is already unsupportable but the biggest problem is its source. Are you fine though?"


    "Yeah¡­" nca said meekly. "Cough! Cough! My nose is just a little bit sensitive. This may be worse than the smell produced by that tentacle monster."


    "You are right about that. The presence of those unidentified particles in the air is too strong around here," I said, feeling the need to reconsider if we couldn''t gain anything by taking this risk; "Cristal, how is it?"


    [It''s worse than expected. I can''t advance any further as it would expose my presence. I am waiting for further instructions.]


    "I see, what can you see?"


    [My angle of view is currently limited as the entrance leading to the area is obstructed by an unknown substance, but from what I can see, there is a creature simr to the tentacle monster but considerably bigger and¡­]


    "And?"


    [I can''t determine the cause, but it seems like there are people who are infected.]


    "This is not good. Can you see something simr to a spaceship?"


    [Yes, but there''s a problem. The monster is right above it, and also, the whole area seems to be covered by this unknown substance. The good news, if I can put it that way, is that the ship seems to be not in a bad state.]


    "Okay, thanks Cristal, and continue to observe the situation," I said.


    [Roger.]


    "Okay, let''s consider our options before we decide what we should do for here," I said, signaling nca to stop.


    "Okay, but from the look of it, there aren''t many options," nca said, looking like she was also thinking about the situation.


    "I know, this may be the only ship that is still repairable, but we also need to think about what will happen if we decide to take the risk and fight the monsters. Even if we win, there may be some consequences that will make things more difficult," I said, but I knew that if we took into consideration the thirty or so minotaurs roaming around the area, along with a few hundreds of flying monsters that include lesser wyverns, and also the possibility that there was a high-level monster around, our options were indeed limited.


    If we wanted to progress, we couldn''t avoid fighting monsters, I knew that, but I was just thinking about how to minimize the possibility of losing against these monsters.


    "But if we run every time, we wouldn''t be able to do anything at the end of the day," nca said.


    "You seem to be rather determined to fight these monsters, and at least, I don''t dislike that attitude, but don''t misunderstand me, I am not thinking about running, I am just making sure that we can manage to take full advantage of the options that we have," I said.


    "I see, so what are we going to do?" nca asked.


    After hearing nca''s question, I began to think about the best course of action that we should take from there. However, I knew that my abilities were stillcking so I needed to take into consideration the risks that I might be wrong, but I didn''t think too much about the things I couldn''t do and focused on what I was capable of.


    For example, I knew that I could beat that huge tentacle monster if I didn''t think about anything else and just focused on extermination but to do that, I needed nca to take care of the zombies.


    As nca said, being careful was a good thing but if nothing changes at the end of the day, we would die, so it was not always the best choice, depending on the circumstances.


    ''If we decide to turn back and search somewhere else, there is no telling that we won''t have to fight other monsters, and the chance to find a repairable was even lower, so in the end, we are just trying to decide if we want to fight now orter. Yes, there''s not much of an option.'' I concluded and decided that it was time to think about a n and deal with that disgusting monster. It seemed like I need to go all out.


    "You take care of the zombies, and I take care of the tentacle guy," I said.<sub> </sub>


    "What? I mean, didn''t you say about being careful or something?" nca said, looking a little bit surprised.


    "In any case, there will be consequences, so let''s notplicate things. Don''t let the tentacles damage the ship, and with your power, you should be able to do that while taking care of the zombies. As for me, I will make sure that we will get a ship today. So, can you do that?" I said.


    "Yeah, I can manage," nca said.


    I made this suggestion after thinking and analyzing how nca''s power worked and the location where the fight would take ce.


    From what I could see, nca had excellent control over her power and she could cover a fairlyrge area, unlike me who had my range of attack greatly reduced when I used the antimatter. However, the difference between the destructive power between her blood and the antimatter was significant and it took a little bit longer for her to dissolve the monster''s tentacle. Because of that, the monster would be able to regenerate and it would be a battle of endurance.


    On the other hand, as long I could locate the core, I could take care of it, but the only problem was its size. ''Piercing the cores with my swords wouldn''t destroy itpletely. It seems like it''s time to try my new ability and test its limit.'' I thought.


    *****


    :::[Third Person POV]:::


    ''It''s been a few hours but they are not back yet. Did something happen? Well, Cristal should be able to notify us if something happened.'' Liu thought, looking like she couldn''t help but think about how Adam and nca''s exploration was going. ''So does that mean that they just forgot to keep us informed?''


    She didn''t look like she was the kind of person who could wait patiently while knowing it was mainly her fault that they were in this situation. She thought that all of this wouldn''t have happened if she was a bit stronger, and because of that, it was even harder for her to stay put now that she was stronger.


    However, what Adam said still stood despite those facts, but Liu felt as if Adam treated her as a weak person after what happened despite his valid arguments.


    ''Well, we can''t let leave Zax here alone or bring her to the city.'' Liu said, as she looked at Zax and saw her cobbling some electronic parts together for a while now.


    "So, what are those?" Liu asked, looking curiously at what Zax was doing.


    "Adam brought them yesterday, and he said that I could probably build something useful out of them. Now, I am trying to make thismunicative device work so that we would be able tomunicate with Timothy and the others using holograms," Zax said as she sat on the floor surrounded by electronic parts.


    ''It seems like he took Zax''s feelings into consideration,'' Liu thought, but then, something crossed her mind. ''But as for me¡­ Well, it''s not like we are close or anything.''


    However, this train of thought leads her to remember what Zax said. Adam was in a very bad state because he went to save her with one giftless girl, so in a way, Liu could interpret Adam''s action like this: ''I have already gone through all of that pain so it''s out of the question that she gets hurts just after I saved her.''


    ''No, no, no. That''s impossible,'' Liu thought, feeling like she was having silly thoughts because of the situation. ''Why do I even think about something like that at times like this.''


    It seemed like after thinking too much, Liu began to reach a weird conclusion, but no matter how it sounded, Liu was thinking about Adam constantly thesest few days, and no one knew if it was a bad or good thing.


    "I see. I think they also want to see us, but I wonder how Adam managed to contact them," Liu said, "he doesn''t have an ess to our privatemunication line, right?"


    "Yeah, I''ve been wondering too, but it''s Adam. He probably did something without us knowing. That''s why I know that he is being considerate of me by bringing these parts because I am sure that he could use Cristal to do this." Zax said.


    "You are the best after all. I am sure that we will be able to contact Timothy and the others soon." Liu said.


    "Yeah, It''s almost done."


    Looking back at Liu''s attitude just a few days ago, no one would think that she would be able to talk the way she did with Zax.


    It seemed like some changes could only happen during difficult times.

 Chapter 103 Darkmatter

    "The most important fact that we need to take into consideration is our speed of attack," I said, as we continued to move forward, readying ourselves for the next battle. "We can''t waste the effect of surprise. After all, we can''t let the ship get damaged, otherwise, all of this would be a waste of time."


    "I understand. I will watch your back," nca said and I was a bit surprised.


    ''Did her impression of me change?'' I thought. ''Well, that''s a good thing I guess. This battle will help me to determine what kind of person she is.''


    "Yeah, make sure that the tentacles don''t hit the ship while I take care of the main body," I said. "These things are disgusting, but more importantly, their movements are unpredictable, making it a little bit troublesome."


    "Are you sure that you can deal with the main body alone though? That red liquid looked like it was dangerous." nca said, looking like she wondered where my confidence came from. She didn''t know about the antimatter after all.


    "Don''t worry, I am invincible," I said, trying to make it look like I was joking. I was trying to lighten up the mood because we were about to fight a giant monster with alien-like disgusting tentacles, but it looked like I sucked at making jokes.


    "I see. If it was someone else word''s, then I would have doubted it, buting from¡­" nca said, looking extremely serious.


    "I was half-joking, don''t take it seriously," I said, and nca looked worried, so I reassured her again. "Still, there''s nothing to worry about apart from the ship. That monster is already as good as dead."


    "You are weird sometimes," she said, "and that must be way, Liu¡­ Well, whatever."


    "What?" I said, but nca looked like she was preparing mentally so I didn''t ask any further.


    "Okay, let''s do this," I said, as we approached the entrance of the hidden area, and then, I noticed that the disgusting substances on the wall got thicker, looking like enormous veins with pores. "It''s better to not step on those things."


    From the look of it, these things were somehow connected to the monster so It was better to avoid touching them.


    "Who would want to touch such a thing?" nca said, looking extremely disgusted by what she saw. "I wouldn''t evene here if it wasn''t for our goal."


    "Okay, that''s the entrance. Let''s stop talking for now." I said as Cristal approached us and turned into a helmet.


    We need to look through the thick tentacles blocking us from entering the area, and the x-ray vision was really useful at times like that.


    "Can you see what I see?" I asked.


    "Yeah, this area looks bigger than I expected. To think that there would be such a ce underground." nca said through the helmet; "however, this monster is just too big."


    "You are right," I said, "this thing will be a pain to deal with, but this is a risk worth taking as we can''t build a spaceship from the scratch."


    nca and I didn''t feel scared by what we saw, and I realized that nca had more battle experience than I was.


    "There are a lot of zombies too," nca said, looking at the hordes of walking dead within the area.


    "As soon as we enter the area, make sure to watch out for those smaller tentacles while you deal with the zombies," I said, looking at the monster who hanged on the ceiling of what looked like a confined space. It was big and eight enormous tentacles grew out of its body and reached the ground and then continued to spread around the room like veins. "I will deal with the enormous ones."


    Thousands of smaller tentacles enveloped the pir-like ones but these were simr to the ones that could detect sounds and movement. Even though I said they were smaller, it was only because the pir-like ones were too big.


    This ce is big enough to put ten ships that could transport a couple of thousands of people, but there was only one inside.


    ''Really, humans are despicable and selfish sometimes,'' I thought as I looked at the zombies who were certainly the nobles and influential people of this country along with their families.


    "I will leave that helmet so Cristal can assist you during the fight," I said.


    "Didn''t you say that you need this when you fight?" nca asked.


    "Yeah, but this time, things are different, so I will take a different approach," I said, thinking about the things I needed to try out.


    "How many secrets do you have? I feel like you always have something up your sleeves. Seriously, it''s scary with that personality of yours." nca said, and I didn''t quite understand what she said about my personality. I knew that I changed somehow, after what happened, but I believe that it was for the better. "Well, it''s quite reassuring to have your around at times like this. It makes me feel that we will be to do something about this monster," she added.


    "Well, if you say so," I said, feeling like it was not really the time for a long discussion, but I knew that at least, we were not feeling too much pressure that might hinder our performance, so in a way, it was also a good thing. "Like before, I will count until three, and we go all out."


    "Okay."


    We approached the entrance and my helmet turned into a sma that I floated next to me.


    I raised my hand, in a way that allowed nca to see my fingers, then counted until three.<sub> </sub>


    ''One, two, three.''


    "Now!" I shouted and the sma sword that floated next to me cut down the tentacles that blocked the path.


    "Kreeeee!"


    As soon as I cut down the thick tentacle, the monster immediately noticed our presence and the thousands of tentacles with mouths turned in our direction.


    Not only the tentacles, but the zombies had also noticed our presence and started running at us at full speed.


    Crack! Crack!


    Sounds of cracking echoed throughout the rooms as the zombies didn''t feel pain and just dashed forward at full strength.


    Along with the zombies, the tentacles also headed toward us, and since my power of neutralization couldn''t stop them all because they were too big, so even though we could avoid the zombies by flying, the tentacles were more difficult to deal with.


    "Kreek!"


    Fortunately, nca was good at controlling her power and her reflexes were sharp, so she didn''t have any difficulty avoiding the tentacles.


    However, their numbers were a problem, and the only way to deal with them all at once was to deal with the main body.


    Swoosh! Shoowh!


    The tentacles were trying to eat me alive as I rushed towards the huge disgusting thing that hung on the ceiling.


    However, the ck cape was superior to any kind of floating vehicle when ites to speed and if it wasn''t for the girls, I would have traveled to the main continent alone. Consequently, as long as my reflexes were sharp enough, the ck cape would follow my body movements.


    "Kreek! Psss! Psss!"


    The tentacles began to shoot red liquids from their mouth as I approached the main body.


    After that, avoiding the tentacles while avoiding the liquid that they shot at me was a little bit trickier.


    "These things are huge," I said to myself, looking at the four cores that looked bigger than a car. "And if that red liquid drops on the ship, then it would be bad."


    At that moment, I stopped in mid and opened my palms, then, two ck spheres appeared on my hand, and soon, dozens of these spheres appeared around me.


    These ck spheres were made of new matter that I had to create by duplicating the new atoms from my dissolved fingers and with the help of what I called my astral body. I called it the Darkmatter.


    Before I changed the name of my power from spiritual body to astral body, because the former was a little bitme, I never thought I would be able to do the things that I managed to do.


    With my astral form, I control the atoms that constituted my body, and since the ck cubes could duplicate, I thought it was an interesting idea if I could create more ck cubes, but with Cristal''s help, I came up with something extremely fantastic.


    To put it simply, I could only create antimatter from atoms that were part of my body, but when I thought about it, my power of neutralization could cover a certain area. In other words, it was a domain that was directly connected to my body.


    The problem was that when I tried to generate antimatter, the range of my power was greatly reduced even though it was unstoppable.


    That was when I looked at my sma sword and thought about something. The de had a part of my finger in them, so there were atoms from my body mixed in, thus, I could generate antimatter from them, but how exactly?


    I finally found the answer. My astral body wasn''t actually what I thought it was because when I created that ability, I brought a matter from apletely different dimension to this world.


    This matter had various interesting properties, but it was the its capacity to duplicate atoms by converting them that interested me this time.


    Every time I activated my sma de, my astral body converted the other particles in the surroundings and turned them into abination of neutral particles and antimatter.


    In summary, what I gained when I created this new ability was the fact that my body was now made ofpletely different matters and that I could control with my thought.


    The dark matters looked like some kind metal, but the cool thing about it was that I could control them with my thought, changing their shapes and their size, and at the same time, they were as destructive as the antimatter.


    "Sorry, but we need this ship you disgusting thing," I said.

 Chapter 104 Black & Red

    :::[Third Person POV]:::


    "Kreek!"


    The tentacles attacked nca from every angle possible without giving her the time to rest, and if it wasn''t for her exceptional reflexes, it would have been hard to avoid all of them despite her power.


    "Psss! Psss!"


    The tentacles didn''t only move faster than she expected, but they also fired a very corrosive substance at her, making them more unpredictable.


    "This is more difficult than I excepted," nca said, looking like she had underestimated the tentacles to some extent.


    However, she could deal with the tentacles as effectively as Adam.


    "At least, he is not all talk," she said, looking at Adam who rushed towards the main body while avoiding the tentacles.


    nca''s power protected her against the acids because a crimson red liquid appeared around her and took the shape of a giant wing, but unlike how it looked, this wing didn''t slow her down and could protect her from any attack.


    "Kreee!"


    ''I guess, I am going to take this more seriously too,'' nca thought, and the wings on her split up and took the shape of different animals who looked like they were enveloped in burning red mes.


    There were five crimson red lions around nca, as she sat on top of a crimson red horse, wearing red armor that covered her whole body and held a sword in her hand.


    This was her final trump card that made use of the distinct traits that vampires had. To put it simply, vampires could control their unique blood using psychic powers, and with it, they were able to do what nca did.


    Swoosh!


    nca, riding on the back of the red horse, began to rush at the zombies while cutting down the tentacles in her way.


    sh! sh!


    The five tigers also moved with her and began to ughter the zombies.


    These animals that nca materialized using her own blood looked so real, and even though they were big, their movement was smooth.


    It showed how good nca''s control was, and since they were made from her blood, they could destroy almost anything.


    Still, it used a lot of physical and mental strength to maintain control over all of that, so she felt her strength depleting at an extremely fast rate.


    However, she also understood the importance of her task which was to eliminate all of the zombies, because if these zombies weren''t eliminated, this areas couldn''t be considered safe and they wouldn''t be able to bring Zax around.


    Besides, there was also the fact that these zombies had the seed of the tentacles monster in them, or so Adam said, making it possible for them to turn into a tentacle monster.


    ''This monster is really scary in many ways,'' nca thought as she destroyed the zombies in her way. ''I understand that it''s a kind of parasite, but if something like this spread around¡­ Well, it''s no use to think about that now.''


    "Graaaa!"


    The zombies didn''t feel frightened by the tigers and continued to rush forward, but the tigers tore them apart revealing something extremely disturbing inside of them.


    ''Are those cores?'' nca gasped, and she began to understand why Adam was careful about those zombies. ''It seems like their heart turned into a core.''


    This discovery made nca feel extremely horrified as she couldn''t even imagine the pain when those parasites invaded a person''s heart.


    "Heuuurrr!"


    nca pushed her way through the zombies, and as expected, every zombie that stood in were instantly obliterated, and those who managed to avoid being run over by her horse got their chest torn open and their heart demolished by her sword, revealing dark substances from their interior which smelled extremely horrible.


    Swoosh!


    The zombies'' number decreased considerably but they didn''t stop attacking nca, and she also had to deal with the tentacles that got in her way.


    "Tsk, I am running out of time," nca said to herself after realizing that three of the tigers vanished, but she could also see that the zombies'' number decreased, and the tentacles seemed to focus on Adam. "Okay, let''s finish it. I hope he managed to deal with the main body by then.


    After saying these words, nca jumped from her horse and opened her arms.


    She was about to use her most powerful attack, but since she couldn''t damage the ship, she needed to haveplete control over it.


    Red particles began to appear around her, and unlike the normal red crimson color, they had a neon-like glow and it seemed like they were filled with some kind of energy.


    These particles began to circle nca and little by little, a tornado appeared, and she was at the center of it.<sub> </sub>


    The zombies who rushed at nca were instantly decimated without leaving any trace.


    After that, shended abruptly on the ground.


    Boom!


    Then, a tremendous shockwave spread from where shended, turning the tornado into an extremely destructive force that wiped the remaining zombie in one good.


    Boom!


    "Huff, huff¡­" nca panted and she looked exhausted after generating such a destructive force. Even though she wasn''t in her optimal condition, her strength was phenomenal ifpared to most people in this universe.


    Still, there were beings like Rudeus who were lucky and possessed unique powers, and against them, nca could as well be helpless like most people in this universe.


    "Did he do it?" Bianca said and looked up at Adam.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    "What is this?"


    The huge pir tentacles began to detach themselves from the ground and wrapped around the main body.


    "This ugly bastard has intelligence?" I asked out loud, thinking about how having intelligence could make monsters of this level a lot more dangerous.


    I used my new ability to create thin ck disks which I used to cut down all the tentacles around me in a matter of minutes.


    p Like the range of my neutralization power, I could control them with my thoughts as long as they were within twenty meters of me.</anda>


    Fifty or so of such ck disks moved around me without stopping, and by wearing Cristal''s helmet, I was able to make more urate predictions and managed to control all of them with my thoughts.


    ''This is mentally challenging,'' I thought, but I was trying to test my limits as I continued to rush towards the main body, so I sort of used this monster as some sort of test subject.


    I was testing the limit of my ability to control the Darkmatter with my thought, and also, I was trying to figure out the energy consumption rted to the usage of this new power.


    Fortunately, I was able to absorb the primordial particles in the air, but even so, there was a limit to how much I could store inside of my body and how much it could withstand.


    ''I feel like the only thing that limits me now is my body,'' I thought, but it seemed like creating a body that could withstand the power contained inside two universes was not something that could be done easily. ''Well, normal people don''t even think about such a thing. It seems like I bing more and more abnormal as time passes.''


    However, with the Darkmatter, I resolved the problem with my inability to control the Antimatter. Even though it was more or less a downgraded version, the Darkmatter was effective, and if someone could deal with it, then I would have to take them seriously.


    "Kreeek!"


    It seemed like the tentacles got agitated after seeing that they couldn''t reach me, as I could use the ck discs, not only to cut them down using the edges but also, to protect myself using the sides.


    So, whenever they attacked me, it was their head that got obliterated.


    ''I see, so this ugly bastard instinctively wrapped its main body with these tentacles so that I can''t reach the cores,'' I thought, and I knew that it was probably some kind of survival instinct, but after seeing the thing in front of me, I realized that it would be a pain to deal with.


    "It seems like I need to change my approach," I said andnded on top of the spaceship.


    After all, I couldn''t let the ship get destroyed, and to do that, it seemed like I needed to annihte the tentacle monsterpletely.


    "20 meters, huh¡­ I guess that will be enough," I said. "This will probably wear me down though, but I need to see where I can go with this power when ites to the pure destructive aspect."


    After all, this power was really useful for doing tricks like the almost invisible wires, but when ites torge-scale attacks¡­


    "Well, let''s see¡­"


    I raised my hand and focused my full attention on a single point, then a ck cube appeared and grew bigger and bigger.


    "I like the ck color, you know¡­ So disgusting things should have a different color," I said, feeling a little bit disgusted by the monster as looked up.


    Creating a twenty meters wide cube took more time than I expected which was not practical if I was fighting an enemy that was quicker than the tentacles.


    I know that my body got an upgrade and my aptitudes increased, but it seemed like I could not still makerge-scale attacks.


    Still¡­

 Chapter 105 Growth

    The ck cube that I created with the Darkmatter almost covered an area of twenty meters and taller than a Minotaur.


    "Kreeek!"


    I didn''t know if the monster was intimidated by the ck cube or if it was just pissed off by my presence, but it began to attack me with everything it got.


    "Kreeek"


    Thousands of tentacles began to rush at me, but even though I had all of my focus on creating the ck cube, it didn''t mean that I couldn''t avoid the tentacles.


    Moreover, I could just move the cube around, and when I did, the tentacles that came in contact with it lost their heads.


    "Let''s finish this," I mumbled as I began to float and rose to the ceiling, and as I did, the ck cube that was above me began to move upward too.


    "Kreeek!"


    The monster tried hard to stop the ck cube, but it was inevitable, and despite the thousands of tentacles that tried to push it down, the ck cube didn''t stop moving upward.


    What I was trying to do sounded simple when exined, but still, it drained a lot of physical and mental strength. Honestly, it was a big help that I didn''t need to use my power to fly even though I could do it on my own.


    However, as I moved upward, I could feel that the ck cube was heavier and it moved slowly, and I knew that was because there were too many tentacles trying to push it down.


    Unlike the Antimatter, the Darkmatter was a downgraded version so it took a while to disintegrate anything that came in contact with it. Still, it was easier to control as I was not strong enough to control the Antimatter.


    ''I am stronger than before, but for some reason, every time I used the Antimatter it goes out of control, destroying my clothes and causing a lot of unexinable phenomena, so I deemed it too dangerous to use it," I thought as I looked up at the dark object up above me.


    ''I know that I am just trying to distract my mind by thinking about all of these things, but I don''t want to let my imagination run wild when ites to topics rted to my parents and my as it may affect my mental condition. Well, at least I got results, so it was not aplete waste of time.''


    "Kreeek"


    The monster sounded desperate and used all of its power, but I could never lose against this monster as I have already encountered a tougher opponent.


    The only thing that made this monster annoying was its size, and also, there was the ship directly under it.


    "Keeeeeeek!"


    The monster began to sound like it was screaming in pain, but I wasn''t even sure if this kind of disgusting thing could even feel pain.


    It was sandwiched between the ck cube that contained to move upward and the ceiling which was made of very strong material, and because of that, there was nothing it could do apart from trying to prevent the cube from moving but that was not possible.


    Even though I could feel that controlling the massive ck cube took a toll on my body and my mind, I also more or less learned a lot of things during this battle.


    ''My strength increased a lot, and I am not yet at the peak of my condition, but even so, myrge-scale attacks were still too limited even with the Darkmatter,'' I thought, then I stopped in mid-air and raised my hand, pushing the ck cube against the ceiling and crushing the monster in between.


    Sprooot!


    Although the ck cube disintegrated most of the monster''s body, there were still a lot of liquids and remains that rained down on the ground, and it was not something very pleasant to see.


    "Keeeeeek"


    "nca, make sure to not let something get out of this area. Use Cristal''s ability to help you identify everything any abnormal activity and destroy such a thing immediately," I said, knowing what the desperate monster was capable of.


    "Okay," nca said.


    I continued to use my power to make sure that the monster got crushed and that its core was destroyed.


    ''Well, as I expected, even if it''s a downgraded version, this ck cube was able to deal with the red liquid inside the monster''s main body,'' I thought, looking at the various substances that fell from the ceiling. ''It''s unavoidable that the ships would be tarnished by these disgusting things, but at least, we kept the damage to the minimum. Still, I hate this monster, and everything about it is utterly awful. If parasites like this spread around this universe, I can''t even imagine the horror.''<sub> </sub>


    Still, I need to make sure to not damage the ceiling because everything would be meaningless if it fell on the ship.


    ''Well, it seems like apart from the gigantic one, I can deal with all of the monsters that are present here, unlike a few days ago.'' I concluded, looking back at the person I was just before I entered the portal. ''But I feel like it wasn''t only my power that increased, and I also changed but I am not exactly sure in what way. Well, it''s the result that is more important.''


    Thud!


    After a while, I could feel the ck cube crashing into the ceiling so I stopped using my power.


    "Huff¡­" I sighed a bit, feeling like that attack used almost half of my strength.


    ''Well, I can recover faster than now, and even before, my healing ability was better than everyone else. I thought that every person who had a gift could recover at that speed, but now that I think about it, it seems like it''s a particr trait.... I see, I was also a little bit surprised by my mother''s recovery speed before. There must some kind of connection there... Now, there''s another mystery that I need to think about,'' I thought.


    After that, the ck cube vanished, and only the remains of the monster could be seen on the ceiling around the dent in form of a square left by the cube on the ceiling.


    *****


    :::[Third Person POV]:::


    [There!]


    nca looked around the room and began to search for parasites that managed to avoid being crushed by the ck cube.


    Such a thing was necessary because as Adam said, this should be the safest area around if they could take care of the tentacles monster.


    As nca continued to take off these parasites, a thought crossed her mind, thinking back about what she saw while observing Adam while he took care of the body.


    ''I didn''t expect him to be that strong,'' nca thought. ''What was that power? It looked simr to mine but also extremely different. The more I look at him, the more I find more traits on him that make me think that he may be one of our kind. Yet, he also feelspletely different.''


    "These things refuse to die. If it was at least a bit beneficial to the world, it would have been a very good trait. How about a cow that could multiply itself like this?" Adam said, looking at the tentacle.


    He was not particrly talking to anyone, but nca could hear him talking through the helmet.


    ''A cow? I''ve heard about something like that somewhere,'' nca thought, and it felt like the tense atmosphere that was created by the presence of the tentacle monster was gone.


    Still, Adam continued to amaze nca even though she found him a little bit weird sometimes.


    ''At least, he is dependable¡­'' She thought, feeling like with his help she might find a way to deal with the problems that she couldn''t solve. ''Well, I can''t count on him on such a thing¡­ But at least, I should probably ask if he has some ideas.


    "Are you finished? I think like we managed to kill them all," Adam said, making sure that he didn''t miss one of the parasites.


    "Yes, it was thest one," nca replied.


    For some reason, the tentacles withered and crumbled like dry tree branches. It seemed like the red liquids inside the main body were something important for the monster''s survival.


    "Well, let''s investigate the ship''s interior. There must be a few of those parasites who got inside," Adam said.


    "Yeah, but how did those people end up in this situation in the first ce?" Bianca asked.


    "Well, one of them probably had a parasite inside of their body, but because of the monster outside, they didn''t have anywhere else to run," Adam exined.


    "To think this kind of monster exists. I am sure that there are worse though," nca said, looking like she didn''t care about the people who turned into zombies even if she was curious about the reason.


    "Well, the only thing that we can be certain of is that there is nothing that we can be certain of," Adam said.


    "What? I get what you want to say, but the way you said it was weird," Bianca replied.

 Chapter 106 One Year Of Madness (Part 1)

    "It seems like there''s nothing inside. Well, it''s probably because those could make the ship fly died first," Adam said after examining the entirety of the ship''s interior. "And this thing is huge, but we have another problem because of that."


    nca didn''t say anything and was quiet since after she saw Adam''s demonstration of power. She was in a way amazed, but somehow, she was also scared of him and what he might do if he suddenly changed his mind.


    From what nca could see, Adam always had ns, and she didn''t what Adam had in mind for her, but after their exchanges, she concluded that sometimes his appearance and facial expressions, even his words, didn''t match his actions at all.


    ''It''s as if he is saying something different while thinking about somethingpletely different,'' She thought to herself.


    Because of that, nca wanted to know if by any chance Adam was more trustworthy than he looked. However, this also meant that he could be more dangerous than he appeared to be, and in both cases, nca still had to put on a poker face and try to work alongside him until they managed to leave this.


    ''I can''t tell him what really happened unless I am sure of his true intentions. He seems to be rather reasonable with his questions, and he didn''t try to hide his intention. His arguments are also reasonable,'' nca thought as she looked inside thepartment of the ship and saw a few bodies that she instantly decimated with her power.


    Like before, Adam''s voice was transmitted through her helmet and she could hear him talking.


    "Yeah, how are we going to get this ship out of this ce? We are underground right?" nca said, stating the obvious but also the biggest problem of all.


    "Let''s discuss that with Liu and Zaxter. They should have understood the importance of this ship by now. Well, we are lucky to find one in this state, so we will get it out of here even if we have to make a hole in that ceiling. That will take time though, so instead, we should look for the reason why they were confident about having a ship in this ce. There must be another way," Adam said.


    "I see, but what do you mean by the importance of this ship? Didn''t you already exin that to them? They are not that stupid, I think," nca asked.


    "I know, but unlike you, we were just gone for a few hours, so of course, things changed a lot in this world while we disappeared for almost a year. I said before that help will being, but looking at the state of thing, it seems like there only forty percent for such a thing really happen," Adam exined, talking as if he was making an argument.


    "Yeah, you are right. Still, why didn''t you exin that to them?" nca asked.


    "If I told them everything in one go, it was highly probable that their mental state would be affected. I know that they are strong, but the fact that they had already gone through a very traumatizing experience made it more dangerous for them to learn the whole truth," Adam said. "Well, they still needed to face the reality sooner orter though, so I decided that it would be better if they do it by themselves."


    nca was surprised by Adam''s answer because she didn''t think that he would care that much about Liu and Zax. She didn''t know if Adam''s way of doing things was the best, but she knew that Liu didn''t want Adam to care for everything for her, so by doing this, Adam would give her the ability to decide for herself to some degree.


    "Can I ask you a question?" nca said.


    "What do you want to know? Don''t worry, I decided that you are not a threat to us from what I could observe today," Adam said.


    "No, it''s not about that. Well, I think that I can somehow trust you too, but what I want to know is something more personal," nca said.


    "Okay, I think it''s not bad to have a constructive discussion."


    "Well, you said that you are from this, but since I met you, I never see you look worried. Are you trying to put up a fa?ade too?" nca asked.


    "A fa?ade? You might be right¡­ However, I can''t let my emotions lead to our death."


    "I also understand that, but sometimes¡­ I feel like I am beginning to forget the purpose of my actions as I continue to suppress these emotions."


    "Are you talking about your sister?"


    "No¡­ Well, yes, but also my mission¡­" nca said.


    "Well, you can''t be mentally strong and emotionally unstable at the same time, then expect to perform a hundred percent of your ability when you need to do so," Adam exined. "But what is sure is that all of your worries would be meaningless if you die meaninglessly."


    "Worries?"


    "You worry about things because they are important," Adam said. "So in my opinion, we need to survive first before we can worry about anything else."


    "¡­ You are right."


    Adam''s point was debatable, but it was also true considering their circumstances. However, nca still wondered if Adam felt the same as she did. Her world was also about to be destroyed and she needed the Tree fragments to save everything that she cared about.


    Nevertheless, as she traveled from one universe to another, she began to be more focused on finding the Tree fragments and the difficulties that she had to ovee in every world that she visited. In the end, she began to feel that at some point, she began to drift away from her goal.


    ''I can''t even go back home now¡­'' nca thought, but she couldn''t ask Adam to help her, knowing that he was also struggling to keep his emotions in check, or at least, that was what she believed, looking at the man in front of her.<sub> </sub>


    "Well, let''s go back for now," Adam said after they made sure that they disposed of all of the bodies inside of the ship and inspected the whole interior for the second time.


    *****


    :::[Third Person POV]:::


    While Adam and nca were still inside the hidden area, Zax finally managed to make amunication device out of the parts that Adam brought.


    "I did it! We should be able to contact the others now, I can''t wait to talk to them," Zax said excitedly and looked at Liu.


    "Okay, let''s try it," Liu said.


    "Aren''t we going to wait for Adam?" Zax asked.


    "Why would we wait for him? In the first ce, we should be the ones to contact them and not Adam," Liu said. "We can''t leave everything to him, and we should at least make sure that the others areing."


    "You are right," Zax replied, "Let''s do that."


    After that, Zax inputted a code and themunication device began to vibrate and made a particr noise.


    Beep! Beep! Beep!


    While waiting for someone to talk through the device, Zax felt impatient, and Liu who sat with her arm crossed next to Zax began to tap continually her arm with her finger.


    "It''s connected," Zax said.


    "¡­"


    They waited for someone to speak but for some reason, no one said a word.


    "Yelena, are you there?" Zax asked, knowing that at times like this, Yelena should be the one who was worried about Liu the most.


    "Is that you, Miss Liu?" Someone spoke through themunicative device, and unlike what Zax and Liu expected, it was a man''s voice that they recognized, but at the same time, it made them more puzzled.


    "Uncle Haozu?" Liu asked, recognizing the voice. "Is my father present?"


    "No, he isn''t, but is that really you?"


    "Yes, it''s me."


    "Wait a minute, I will activate the hologram," Haozu said. "Are you fine? Where were you all of this time? What happened to you?"


    "¡­" Liu was a little bit taken aback by Haozu''s reaction. "Yes, I am doing fine for now, but as you can see, we need some help. Where is Yelena? I need to talk to her first," Liu said.


    "About that¡­" Haozu sounded like he was struggling to find the right words.


    "Is she not with you? Did my father send you?" Liu asked, and she began to feel that something was weird.


    "Miss Liu, while you were gone, a lot of things changed, and Yelena¡­ Well, she is now at the Empire," Haozu said.


    When Haozu said these words, Liu began to feel more and more impatient and it showed on her face. She believed that Yelena had reported back to the Empire after she was abducted, but she didn''t think that her father would send Haozu in such a short time, and even if they did, it wouldn''t make sense for Yelena to go back.


    "I was only gone for a day¡­" Liu mumbled as if she was trying to make sure that they were on the same page, but then she remembered about the huge monster outside and the state of the city. She thought that it was weird, but she also believed that it was the result of the monster''s invasion.


    "What? Miss Liu, you were missing for almost a year now¡­" Haozu said. "Your father¡­ Well, even if we want to rescue you, it would be difficult. The empire restricted all ess to the whole territory of Kepalta, and due to the incident that urred months ago, it''s a miracle that you survived¡­"

 Chapter 107 One Year Of Madness (Part 2)

    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    nca''s attitude had somehow changed, different from my expectations, and I began to wonder if she let her guard around me, and if yes, for what reason.


    ''Well, she is kind of direct too,pletely different from Liu,'' I thought. ''I can''t say I dislike her character, but from the look of it, she still trying to test me.''


    As I was thinking about these things, I took a little to properly observe the area because I didn''t have time to do so when we first arrived.


    It looked like a bunker with a few facilities, and I guessed that all of those buildings served some purposes that we needed to investigate because the control room was somewhere around this area.


    ''Still, that monster was sure filthy and extremely dangerous¡­ I hope¡­" I was about to say that I hoped our wouldn''t be invaded by such monsters, but before I could finish my sentence, I suddenly remembered the situation.


    Then, I began to think about what nca said. ''I don''t look worried?'' I asked myself. ''Well, how can I be not worried, but I don''t see the point of worrying at this point. Despite everything, I am not a God in every sense of the word¡­''


    When I thought about everything that happened, I realized that every time I became stronger, I also noticed that I was more ignorant than I thought.


    ''A few weeks ago, I was told to save the world and I decided that I should get stronger and decide for myself after, but now I realize that I was never given the choice.


    Fifteen years had passed, and I lived a peaceful life during that time, but suddenly, a minotaur ran havoc, messing with mying to age ceremony, but for some reason, it also helped me to discover some information about the nature of my power.


    After that, I was asked to save the world under extremely confusing circumstances. Yeah, that''s not even a coincidence anymore...


    Then, Cristal appeared... Yeah, Cristal. She and the person that observed me are another mystery too... She wouldn''t tell me about it though. Well, I will discover the truth by myself...


    But after her appearance, I began to learn more about my power again.


    Then, I met Liu and trained with Maira, but all of sudden, things changed, and I ended up fighting a guy living in a castle.


    And for some reason, however, I discovered another aspect of my power again during this fight, making me stronger and smarter.


    Looking at my past self, I would never believe that I was the same person as before, but my point is that there was a clear path that I followed, and even though it appears like I was smart enough to deal with some situations myself, I felt like it was also meant to be that way.


    All of that brings me to what nca said, again. Am I worried?


    At first, I thought that my power was special, but then I understood that I was wrong, because the word special couldn''t describe what these powers could do.


    My power is terrifying¡­


    If I just made one wrong move, there was no way to determine what exactly would have happened. There were too many possibilities.


    Fortunately, I managed to find out everything that I needed to know before it was toote. Again, as if it was meant to be that way.


    The person who controlled my body had the chance to exin everything, but at that time, I wouldn''t have understood it, because when I looked back at my past self, I realize that I was extremely stupid.


    Then again, if it wasn''t for my stupidity, I wouldn''t be here. I suspected Liu, but at the same time I was attracted to her, so I decided to go with Liu who had Verte with her to find a legendary swordsman and settle things with her.


    In addition to that, I wanted to get stronger, which was the most important element that I based my decisions on, and by deciding to go on that trip, I thought that I was killing two birds with one stone. It sounded smart at first, but it was just because I was ignorant.


    There were a lot of elements that influenced my choices such as the existence of the Holy Church, Liu''s intention, and a lot of things. When I thought about the connection between these elements, things be clearer.


    I am now convinced that there is someone who nned all of that, and it seems like they are not joking about making me a hero or a savior.


    Because when I think about it, I heard about the danger of the Holy Church because of the recording, and after that, I also met Liu because of Verte, but these circumstances lead me to decide that I need to be aware of what was happening around me and get stronger.


    Even if I didn''t want to save the world, I would die if I wasn''t strong enough. And why?


    Because my power was considered special, not only by the Holy Church but by those who were knowledgeable about every reality too, including gods, monsters, vampires, etc. There were too many possibilities and everything could be considered a threat.


    Moreover, when I thought about the fifteen years that I spend in peace, I realized that it was likely because my body needed to grow stronger before I could achieve the purpose of my reincarnation.<sub> </sub>


    After realizing all that, of course, I am worried¡­


    Even my parents were part of this without them knowing it. Because as long as they were near me, they would be always in danger, and despite all, I cared about my mother and my father.


    Naturally, I would protect them, but that would mean that I needed to get stronger, but bing stronger meant more trouble, unexpected situations, and responsibilities of all kinds, so in the end, there was no escaping my fate.


    It''s an endless cycle of getting stronger, facing new problems, learning something new from them, and getting strong again, and it continues on and on... Maybe until I am strong enough to break out of this circle by myself.


    What a bastard¡­ The guy who nned all of this used everything that made me human to prevent me from drifting from the path that leads towards I don''t know where exactly¡­ After all, I love myself and I care about the people dear to me, which is natural, and because of that, there ispletely nothing wrong with me getting strong to protect myself and them¡­


    If only I never used my power... There was no way that I could tell myself to not do that though, after reading all of these books. Moreover, my power is cool when I don''t think about anything else. Yeah, that must have been taken into ount.


    I need to conquer a girl to save the world huh... What a joke... How can it be that easy... Well, To put it simply, I am saving the world by doing what I am supposed to do, which is protecting myself, my family, and my lover and preventing any harm from reaching them.


    Yeah, It''s all good... That is if I wasn''t up against freaking multiversal level threats.


    In the end, I will still do it though¡­ And after manipting my emotions, they made sure that my is destroyed and tried to kill my parent, just so that I will be a hero? That was the n? Okay, but I will do it my way from here¡­ And I will make sure that my parents live, even if I have to destroy the world and then rebuild it back again from every atom by altering time and space. That''s what I am asked to be, right? A God. Sounds like bullshit when I think about it this way¡­''


    "Adam! Hey!"


    "Huh?!"


    "Aren''t we going back?" nca asked, seeing that I spaces out a bit.


    "Yeah, we should take another route though, just to make sure that we don''t run into monsters," I said, realizing that I was spacing out a bit even if my thought process was faster than before.


    "What were you thinking about?" nca asked me, and I was a little bit taken aback by her attitude. I didn''t think that we were that close after all.


    "Well, I just realized that I was given fifteen years of holiday and I wouldn''t probably live what a normal would call a peaceful life again the next few centuries," I said half-jokingly.


    "What? What are you talking about?" nca asked.


    "Our meeting wasn''t probably a coincidence," I said, "and I am guessing that even your mission was somehow rted to me."


    "What do you mean?" nca asked.


    "Things are getting moreplicated, but now is not the time to talk about that," I said, "Let''s go."


    *****


    :::[Third person POV]:::


    "¡­And suddenly, a portal appeared and a monster engulfed the whole," Haozu said, continuing to tell Liu and Zax what happened while they were gone. "In the end, the Empire sent help to evacuate the inhabitants but it was toote, and almost 80% of the people living on the were¡­ They didn''t survive. After that, the Empire decided that this territory was restricted until everything is ready for an all-out war."


    Zax''s face turned pale after hearing Haozu''s words, and even Liu had an extremely serious expression.


    "What happened to Lord Julius and his wife?" Liu asked.


    "Fortunately, they survived, but¡­" Hoazu hesitated.


    "But?"


    "As you can see, they lost everything, and even though the Empire sent help for the survivors¡­ Julius was in a very critical state, mentally and physically. At least, that''s what the report said," Hoazu exined.


    "So my parents are alive," Adam said, suddenly entering the room.

 Chapter 108 One Year Of Madness (Part 3)

    Liu and Zax looked at Adam as he entered the room, their emotions written all over their faces.


    They didn''t know how Adam felt when he heard what Haozu said, but he was nheless as calm as he made his way inside in the middle of the room, put a bag filled with various things on the floor, then stood beside Liu, looking at Haozu who was speaking through themunication device.


    "You¡­ What did you do? What''s your involvement in all of this?" Haozu asked as soon as he saw Adam, and his attitude was clearly different from when he was discussing it with Liu.


    "I am Adam Von Kepalta, and your question is unnecessary so I will skip it," Adam said. "More importantly, the situation is critical, so we want to know if you will manage to somehow help us out."


    "What? How dare¡­"


    "Hey, time is precious for us, so at least, please be more cooperative even if it''s just for Liu''s sake," Adam said, interrupting Haozu who was about toment on his attitude.


    Liu looked at Adam as if she was confused about his behavior. She thought that he would be more shocked after hearing what happened, but it looked like Adam was calmer than before. She began to feel somehow worried about his mental state, and it was rare for her to feel that way.


    ''He must have already known about the fact that one year had passed,'' Liu thought, ''but even so, I don''t think all of this doesn''t affect him at all¡­ Even if he tries hard to hide it¡­''


    "Mmm¡­ Well, to be honest, picking you up from there is almost impossible," Hoazu said, looking like he was mature enough to not argue with Adam. "The only problem isn''t only that gigantic monster and the ones that came out of the portal with it because the portal itself makes it difficult travel across the area as it creates a lot disruption that messes up with ships."


    "So why did you tell us that if we move to another location, you will be able to help us?" Adam asked.


    "I am not finished exining, don''t interrupt me," Haozu said. "Ther is a way, but the chances are still low. We need to make a detour and pick you up from the only ce that is still essible. This location is on the other side of the, and even though monsters have already invaded the whole, this ce is at least a bit far from the portal."


    "I see, thank you for the info. We will contact you againter, but now we need to discuss a little bit about what we should do from here," Adam said as he looked at Liu, "right, Liu?


    "¡­Yes," Liu said, but she was just going along with Adam.


    "Well¡­ I hope you find a solution¡­ Sorry¡­" Haozu said, then he ended the transmission. It sounded like he understood that the chance of Adam and the others'' survival was slim, and Adam''s decision to discuss it with everyone else seemed logical.


    After that, everyone looked at Adam with different expressions on their face, but Adam didn''t show any reaction.


    "We managed to find a ship, and now, what we have to do is to make sure that it can fly," Adam said, going straight to the point.


    Zax looked at Adam worryingly as if she wanted to say something but tried hard to keep herself from talking, believing that Adam must have tried hard to control his emotion in front of her and Liu.


    "¡­ I see," Liu replied, looking like she had a lot of things on her mind but decided to not say anything much. "How long do you think it will take to repair it?"


    In the end, it seemed like Liu also decided to adopt a calm attitude and continued to ept Adam''s decisions despite her doubts.


    What Hoazu said was indeed shocking, and Liu knew this, but it didn''t change the fact that they still need to get off this ce, so Adam''s attitude was the most appropriate one, at least if they wanted to be able to think rationally. However, humans were humans because of their emotions, and even though Liu continued to put up a poker face for years, she was still hurt deep inside, and when it hurt, it hurt.


    "The ship is not in a bad state as we thought it would, so it shouldn''t be that long. However, the only problem is its current location," Adam said, looking like he was already moving on to the next issue.


    "Where is it?" Liu asked.


    "It''s underground. So, to get it out of there, we need to find a certain generator around the area that could open the path for us," Adam said, "and if it doesn''t work, we have to make a hole in the ceiling."


    "A generator? This can be more difficult than it sounds," Liu said, looking like she was imagining the scene inside of her mind.<sub> </sub>


    "I know, but from the information that we got earlier, it seems like this is our best option," Adam said, referring to Haozu''s words. "Moreover, we can''t stay here for too long, as the monsters will certainly detect our presence sooner orter. The area that we found is more secure, so we should all move there for now."


    "I know that," Liu said, understanding that the spaceship was important now that everything else was less unsure. "So when do we begin?"


    Somehow, Liu felt that Adam was smarter than she thought, and even though that was a good thing, she also felt that she was depending on him too much and he always managed to find a solution as Zax said. Therefore, she was a little bit frustrated, knowing that he abilities were limited.


    Admitting that she had her limits was not something easy for Liu, but Adam had already proved himself more imaginative and stronger than her.


    "Let''s do that tomorrow. After our little trip, the monsters are still active around the area," Adam said and began to sort out the food. "Are you hungry? We still have a lot to do so we need all of our strength."


    nca immediately ate the food handed to her, and she stayed quiet, observing Liu and Adam who looked like they had hard timesmunicating with each other. Though, she would neverment on it as long as it didn''t affect their chance of survival.


    As for Zax, she looked like she wanted to say something, but Adam looked like he had already made up his mind and thought about everything, considering the calm look on his face.


    Moreover, there was this invisible tension between Liu and Adam, Zax noticed, and even though she knew that Adam might have feelings for Liu, she couldn''t understand why he acted somehow colder than before toward her.


    ''He saved her, so that''s supposed to help them get a little bit closer, right?'' Zax wondered, but only time would answer her question. She was the only giftless person among the four of them, so she felt a little bit useless, but she was also the one who was most worried about everyone else more than she was worried about herself.


    In Liu''s case, her thought was focused on what Haozu said. ''Why did Yelena and the others stay at the Empire? Did my father¡­'' She thought, but simr to Zax, she couldn''t find an answer to her question.


    Her father was a despicable man, Liu knew this, and everything that he did was for the sake of his own goal.


    ''He doesn''t care about anything else¡­ But if I disappeared, he would want to me someone¡­" She thought, and she clenched her fist tightly and bit her lips, thinking about what her father could do to the others if that was really the case.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    As soon as I heard that my parents were alive, I was more relieved than I thought, but I couldn''t let focus too much on these emotions.


    Indeed, my parents were alive, but it didn''t change the fact that I still had to make sure that Liu and Zax survive too.


    ''They seem to be worried about a lot of things, but it''s inevitable,'' I thought, looking at Zax and Liu.


    Even though I could keep them safe until that point, I couldn''t control their emotions, and the longer we stayed in this situation, the more their anxieties would grow.


    Finding the ship was a good thing, but I had to make sure that the process of reparation and everything else went smoothly, else, it would be hard to keep the morale high enough to continue.


    At least, it looked like nca wasn''t affected by this as badly as Liu and Zax.


    ''¡­''


    After all, if what that guy said was true, then our chance of sess was lower than expected.


    ''A portal huh¡­ It looks like my theory was right, but there''s nothing good about it being true. This is the most critical part of the n, and if we fail now, there will be no other chances. At most, we only have a week¡­''

 Chapter 109 One Year Of Madness (Part 4)

    ''We are finally at the most important phase of this n,'' I thought, looking back at everything that happened since we came back from beyond the portal. ''Even though we can say that we are lucky, it''s also because of my personal growth. To think that I would change that much just because I understood certain things. Imagination sure can be extremely useful, but it can be also a source of a lot of problems.''


    Nevertheless, I needed to use my imagination again to make sure that the ship could bring us to where we wanted to go.


    Unfortunately, I was not a specialist when it came to the technology of this world, and my imagination alone couldn''t be taken as facts when it came to things like that.


    ''In other words, I need to gather more knowledge, and it seems like we were lucky to have Zax around at times like this.''


    As ridiculous as it sounded, the fact that Zax was among our group was certainly the biggest proof that what was happening wasn''t just a coincidence.


    ''I want to p my past self in the face, thinking back about how cringe-worthy some of my thoughts were back then. I was too confident in my abilities, thinking that her presence wouldn''t slow me down.''


    Remembering my past actions made me sure of one thing, ''I should never believe that I am already the best version of myself, because most of the time, I am at my worst.''


    Nheless, I could say for sure that my thought process reached a new level, and even though I didn''t even think about analyzing something, I ended up scrutinizing the little details and came up with various theories.


    Despite that, I always got the feeling that it was still not enough, considering that the person who nned all of the course of events that urred during thest few weeks managed to make everything work for the sake of his goal. At least, that was what I concluded, and I couldn''t stop thinking about it.


    ''I can''t help butugh when I think about the things that I was asked to do¡­ Save a girl? This was supposed to be a serious matter, and the only lead I got was to save a girl. Probably the viiness type with a certain motive that will incidentally lead to the destruction of the world, , ¡­ It was of course sarcasm.


    Just the idea that one person can save the multiverse by preventing another person from destroying it was ridiculous. Is the universe supposed to be some kind of lego puzzle or what?


    To put it simply, this is what I was told, ''You will be able to make your dreame true by doing what I am asking you to do. Well, you don''t have the right to refuse anyway, because you already got a second life for free. ''


    And I was supposed to say, ''Okay, the viiness shall be mine.''


    What bullshit¡­ Considering everything that happened, it will be millions of times harder than trying to be the protagonist of a dating sim game. The sarcasm though¡­ The sarcasm¡­ Knowing that I was the right guy for it. Really, how dumb was I a few weeks ago?''


    As I was thinking about all of these things, Zax began to observe me with curious eyes. Well, it seemed like I was lost in my thoughts again, but it was time to deal with another issue.


    "Zax, let''s talk a little a bit. You are the most knowledgeable when ites to this stuff after all," I said.


    "Okay, but knowledgable about what?" Zax said.


    "Look at this," I said, showing Zax an image of the ship that I took with Cristal''s lens, "what can you say about it?"


    "Ah! This is a model known as Grandsse. These are made in the empire, but they are quite rare," Zax said. "I never thought that I would see one at a time like this."


    "Is it that rare? Well, I don''t know how it ended up here," I said, feeling like there were a lot of things that I was still ignorant about, "but I we need to make it fly, can you operate it?"


    "I am familiar with a lot of ships but not this one," Zax said; "however, I should be able to do it. The only problem is that it''s too huge so there are a lot of things that need to be taken into ount before it can fly¡­"


    Zax looked like she was already thinking about how to tackle this challenge, and I didn''t dislike that attitude of her.


    "From what I could see, the ship is in a good state overall, but as you said, the only issue is rted to its size," I said. "It will be a little bit difficult to take off unnoticed with this."


    From the look of it, I needed to use the twenty metersrge ck cube again and get rid of the monster in the way. I could easily catch up with the ship with the ck cape, as long as it didn''t leave the''s atmosphere and used hyperspeed.


    ''Well, I can''t be certain if my cape can''t really do that¡­ This thing is amazing after all.'' The ck was a cheat item, and it seemed like it wasn''t even used at its full potential. ''Strange isn''t it? I somehow obtain this kind of item when I needed it the most, hahaha¡­Yet another lucky coincidence.''


    I needed to stop there, it was messing with my sense of reality. I couldn''t let such a thing influence me too much, even if I needed to be aware of it.


    "Cough!" Well, that was that, and I needed to get serious and forget about this presumed observer, at least until I managed to get the girls out of here and made sure that my parents were really alive.


    "Are you not feeling well?" Zax asked.


    "Hmm? No, there was just something stuck in my throat," I said. "Anyway, the first thing we need to make sure of is that we find a way to get the ship out of there."


    "I understand, you have already said that. So, there must be some kind of mechanism that needs to be activated to open a path for the ship to take off, right?" Zax, and as I expected, she quickly grasped the situation.<sub> </sub>


    "Yes, that''s the best oue that we can hope for," I said.


    "And if that doesn''t work?" This time, it was Lou who asks the question. She looked like she was trying to think about something.


    "As I said, we need to make a hole in the ceiling, but it will take time and effort," I exined.


    "That sounds more problematic," Liu said. "Are you sure that there are no other ships, for example, somewhere inside the weird buildings in the middle of the city?"


    "What are trying to imply?" I asked.


    "Well¡­" Liu looked like she was about to say something. "No, it''s nothing."


    "If you have any idea, don''t hesitate to tell us about it," I said after seeing Liu''s weird behavior. "Just so you know, my decisions aren''t always perfect."


    "¡­" Liu didn''t say anything, and just looked away. "I am sure that you have already taken us into ount when you thought about this n, right?"


    "What do you mean? I am always making sure that everything that we do will assure our survival," I said, feeling a little bit like Liu was not her usual self. The things that she just heard seemed to have affected her, but I didn''t understand why she had this reaction. I sounded like she was a little bit impatient.


    "This is not apetition, Liu. You should discard that kind attitude at times like this," nca said.


    I didn''t expect nca to say anything at all, but from the look of it, she was observing us. Moreover, I wasn''t sure what she was talking about, but it seemed like she was right, looking at Liu''s reaction.


    ''Liu waspeting with me?'' I thought to myself. ''Well, when I think about it that way it makes sense¡­ But there was no way I could let her act on her own though. It was not a matter of trust or anything else, I just care about her.''


    "I¡­" Liu looked like she wanted to say something back, but knowing that nca was right, she stayed silent and epted that she was wrong.


    Still, I could see that she was quite frustrated and she had a lot on her mind.


    "How can you be so calm and manage to make everything work at times like this?" Liu finally asked the question that she kept to herself, and I was a little bit surprised.


    ''She must be feeling a lot of pressure for her to ask questions like that,'' I thought.


    "Well, it seems like I failed to be considerate of your feelings. I tried to be calm to avoid something like this," I said. "What can I say? You seemed like you already have so much on your mind, so I thought that at least you shouldn''t feel too much pressured by the situation."


    "I see¡­ Sorry¡­" Liu said, and I felt like her mood didn''t improve.


    nca red at me, and I felt like she was telling me that I didn''t make things better.


    "Cough! Well¡­ You know, I care about you, and I know that you are not weak, I already know about how powerful you are, but I tend to be¡­ How to say it... A bit protective towards the people I care about," I said, and I didn''t even know what I was saying, but it sure made me very ufortable.


    I didn''t know why, but talking seriously about my feelings like this was always difficult. Adopting a cool and mysterious attitude was always easy, but facing people and their feelings was always difficult.


    "Why¡­ Why do you care about me?" Liu asked, and she didn''t even look at me once.


    ''What is this? Do I need a reason for that? Well, Isn''t it already obvious? But there was no way I could tell her about it when a gigantic monster was about to swallow the entire¡­.''


    However, I still needed to give Liu an answer, and it seemed like this answer was important to resolve this issue, but I didn''t know what was the correct answer because there were a lot of possibilities, leading to a lot of different oues.


    At least, I was sure of one thing. Telling her about my feelings was not a good idea, as I was notpletely sure about what kind of mess I was about to throw myself in when I reached the Empire. I didn''t want my feelings for her to be used against me every time things went wrong.


    ''For sure, it will be a bloody mess... And I can''t say something that I can''t take the responsibility for. This is something as serious as the end of the world for me...''


    As such, my reply was...


    "I have my reasons, but for now, I prefer not to tell you as it''s not the right time," I said, but it was obvious anyway.


    "¡­" Liu didn''t say anything after hearing my words, and instead, she began to eat.

 Chapter 110 One Year Of Madness (Part 5)

    :::[Third Person POV]:::


    The next day, everyone prepared themselves mentally and physically to move to the hidden area.


    "Are you ready?" Adam asked, looking at the girls.


    Even though a lot of issues that needed to be discussed and dealt with were still put on hold, it was already a good thing that there was a way out of this critical situation.


    It was not often that a group of people in the same position as Adam and the girls get this lucky, looking back at the people who were supposed to use the ship in the first ce.


    Such luck was indeed unbelievable, but it was also the result of Adam''s efforts and the presence of certain individuals among the group.


    However, Adam was lost in his thoughts the whole night, and even though he didn''t appear to be worried about his parents or anything else, one would certainly think that he had be insane if they took a peek at what he was thinking about. He had already thought about almost a thousand scenarios and realistic strategies to deal with them all.


    Nevertheless, everything needed to have a certain bnce and Adam had a hard time finding this bnce. Imagination was indeed a useful tool, but it didn''t mean that everything Adam thought about was the undeniable truth.


    He didn''t have such ability yet, so overthinking things that were likely to happen in the future made him miss things that were already happening in front of him.


    "Yes, I am ready," Zax replied to Adam''s question, a look of determination appearing on her face.


    She was wearing Cristal''s suit as Adam instructed since everyone else could use their own ability to float.


    Liu just nodded and didn''t say anything. After what Adam said yesterday, it seemed like she was more conscious of him. Even though she calmed down, controlling her emotional instability caused by the thoughts rted to her father, she no longer knew how to deal with Adam.


    Both of them agreed that it was not the time to discuss this matter, but Adam was still as ignorant about people''s feelings as always, mostly women''s, and he didn''t really understand why Liu asked that question the night before.


    "Let''s go already," nca said, "we have already made sure of everything at least three times, didn''t we?"


    "I see," Adam said, knowing that everyone seemed to have understood what they had to do. "Let''s go."


    The group finally left the little house and began to travel through the rocky area.


    Adam already made sure that everyone understood the hand signals when needed, and he also exined to Zax and Liu that they needed to avoid fighting monsters for as long as it was possible.


    The rocky area had a lot of narrow pathways where they could sneak through without being detected by monsters, but it was also dangerous, as they were moving in groups and fighting monsters in such a ce would be tricky.


    Fortunately, Adam''s power covered an area of twenty meters and with Cristal''s superior scanning ability, he could take care of the monsters before they were even aware of the group''s presence.


    Adam waspletely focused on this task, making sure that they reached their goal sessfully by finding the best route to follow, so he asked Liu and nca to keep an eye on the immediate surrounding and Zax, just in case he missed something.


    Everyone was quiet during the whole process and used their senses to their limit.


    ''We didn''t encounter as many monsters as I expected,'' Liu thought, and it was a good thing, but she couldn''t help but stare at the man in front of her. She was convinced that he was making sure that everything went smoothly. As she thought about that, a lonely smile appeared for a split second on her face.


    Behind Liu, there was Zax, and she was also observing the two dependable people in front of her. Something she didn''t expect happened the night before, and at first, she was extremely worried, thinking back about the tense atmosphere between Adam and Liu.


    ''I am d that they could swallow their pride at times like that,'' Zax thought, ''Adam always continues to amaze me, but he is also stupid. He didn''t even notice¡­ Well, there was no way for him to know, and I am sure that miss Liu didn''t want him to know too.''


    Thest person who followed from the back was nca, and Adam asked her to watch their back because his trusted in her increased.


    ''He is always good at handling things when ites to fighting monsters,'' nca thought, knowing that it was Adam who was dealing with the monsters without letting them get closer to the group. ''I don''t know about his ability to deal with other people though. Liu is supposed to be his love isn''t she? Why does he keep denying it though? Well, I am not good at it myself¡­


    Adam raised his hand and everyone halted. He could observe a group of monsters ahead, and it seemed like they didn''t intend to leave the area soon.<sub> </sub>


    Liu and nca used their power to float, so they were consuming a lot of strength even though they were not fighting, that was why the group moved at a very quick pace, to not waste time and energy.


    Adam gestured to the others to not make any noise, mostly because only he and Zax wore the helmets that could keep their voice from leaking out.


    The girls quickly understood his instructions and hide behind the boulders in the area.


    They still had a few meters to go before they reached the wall of the city, and Adam was as careful as before, making sure that he didn''t miss anything that could lead to failure.


    After that, Adam moved slowly forward until he was sure that all of the monsters were within his range of attack.


    ''One, two¡­ twelve.'' Adam began to count the monsters and made sure that he didn''t miss one.


    After that twelve ck orbs materialized around him and then took the form of extremely pointy sticks.


    Swoosh!


    The monsters didn''t even understand what was happening to them. Adam controlled the ck sticks with his thought and they pierced the monsters'' heads and chests, making sure that they died instantly.


    After that, Adam stayed immobile for a few seconds before gesturing to the girls that it was time to move.


    The monsters that Adam just killed consisted of giant wolves and some goblins were riding on top of them.


    ''These monsters keep getting more intelligent as time passes¡­'' Adam thought, looking at the dead monsters as they continued to move forward. ''In the long term, this is not a good thing¡­ If those monsters reached humans'' intelligence, they would be able to control the primordial particles too, and humans would be at a great disadvantage¡­''


    Everyone followed Adam, they already know that he would still do everything by himself even though everyone was already there.


    ''He is a lot stronger than before,'' Liu thought, looking at the dead monsters. ''What happened? How did he grow this much power in such a short time?...''


    p However, she knew that it was a good thing, and she also remembered what nca said. Liu was a prideful woman, and when nca lectured her a bit, she felt a little bit frustrated and embarrassed. Still, she recognized that her way of thinking would do any good for the group, and when she calmed down, she realized that nca was right.</anda>


    Nevertheless, she also began to wonder about nca and what happened between her and Adam.


    With everyone in the group having different thoughts in their mind, the trip continued and they were nearing the city''s wall.


    This was the trickiest step in their n because there was an open space between the rocky area and the wall.


    They had to cross this area to reach the hole that Adam made, but the timing of their activities needed to be perfect. In other words, they needed to make sure that they weren''t spotted even though they were moving in a group, at least that was the best oue that they wished for.


    But they had to face the reality, which was more tricky.


    Adam observed the top of the wall and the surrounding, but as expected there were a few monsters.


    It seemed like it was unavoidable that they had to fight the monsters, so from there, the most important factor was speed.


    The hidden area was more or less a fortress, and it could protect them from the monsters, at least unlit they manage to repair the ship, or so Adam concluded.


    Consequently, they needed to make sure that they reached this area and run from the monsters because now that they were moving in a group, they couldn''t move as stealthily as before.


    ''Let''s do this,'' Adam thought.

 Chapter 111 One Year Of Madness (Part 6)

    Suddenly, ck-purple mes falling from the sky engulfed the whole area.


    "Rooarr!"


    "A dragon?''"Adam muttered, knowing that this was the worst oue, and unfortunately, the group could no longer turn back as they were already crossing the open field with nowhere to hide.


    Adam had already suspected that the monsters would notice their presence sooner orter, but it seemed like it happened sooner than he expected.


    Swoosh!


    A huge wall of ice surrounded everyone, protecting them from the ck-purple mes.


    This was Liu''s ability, and she acted as soon as she saw the ck dragon who appeared suddenly from beyond the walls.


    "We can''t stop! We need to continue moving forward!" Adam said.


    The dragon was bad news as it was a difficult opponent to fight against even for him. Moreover, the more they stayed in one ce, the more monsters would appear, and there would be no end to it.


    Knowing that the priority was not to fight monsters, everyone followed Adam''s instructions and continued moving forward despite the appearance of the dragon.


    However, this huge flying monster was not devoid of intelligence as to let its prey slip away from its grasp.


    "Roaaar!"


    Fwooooosh!


    The dragon created a huge wall of mes between the group and the city''s wall, trying to keep them from reaching the city.


    And it didn''t stop there...


    Fwoooosh!


    ...It continued to breathe fire until Adam and the others were surrounded by ck-purple mes that could melt Sterium from every side.


    The dragon was a high-level monster, and it was not the kind of monster that Adam could kill with one hit unless he used all of his power, in other words, unless he used the power of the original Antimatter.


    Of course, he had already used his power to attack the dragon with the darkmatter, but the monster''s skin was tougher than anything he had seen before.


    Besides, the dragon was moving around in the sky, so it was hard tond a decisive blow on it despite Adam''s ability.


    Despite that, Adam instructed the girls to not stop, and they were running straight at the wall of mes in front of them.


    The girls followed Adam from behind, knowing that he was dependable and stronger, or else, someone like Zax would not be able to keep their calm in a situation like this one.


    As for nca, she was somehow used to the fact that Adam didn''t seem to panic no matter what kind of situation he was in, and for someone who went through a lot during her journey, she trusted her instinct and epted that Adam was stronger than her. Still, she would also take advantage of him to survive, and there was nothing wrong with that.


    Swoosh!


    It was Liu who used her power to overwhelm the mes, and in just a few seconds, several thick blocks of ice formed in the area, and the temperature in the atmosphere dropped dramatically.


    Nheless, their problem didn''t end there, instead, the situation worsened as two dragons appeared, looking like they were alerted by their peer''s howl.


    Fwooosh!


    Like before, the dragons began to circle above Adam and the others, showering the ground with dark purple mes.


    And because there were three of them this time, the temperature of the mes increased dramatically, and even even though Adam''s power could nullify some of these mes, it couldn''t do anything about the temperature which made it hard for them to breathe.


    Moreover, as long as Adam used his power of nullification, Liu couldn''t use her ability. That was why, Adam focused on opening a path for them to follow and left the mes to Liu, as her ability was effective.


    Adam created four huge rectangr nks that moved around the group protecting everyone against the mes which went out of control, while Liu used her power to deal with the temperature.


    Swoosh!


    The dragons appeared like they were cats ying with mice, trying to make it hard for Adam and the others to reach their destination.


    The only positive thing about it was that the other monsters didn''t dare toe closer to Adam and the girls, because their instinct told them that they would not survive if they did.


    The temperature around the area continued at a very quick rate, and the ground looked like it was turning into magma, creating thick ck smokes and a strong smell of burnt which affect everyone''s breathing capabilities as they progressed.


    In the end, Liu activated her domain and used almost half of her strength to control the temperature.<sub> </sub>


    Nevertheless, the dragons didn''t seem to be bothered by this, and as if they were taking Liu''s action as a challenge, their mes took a more purple-like color, increasing their destructive power and their temperature.


    This was something that made Adam''s eyes widen. It was as these dragons began to adapt to this world and learned to control the primordial particles in the environment.


    After all, the primordial particles might not give an instant boost like the corruption, it was more important in every other area.


    ''This is not good, these monsters are evolving,'' Adam said, and even though he theorized about it, he never wished for such a thing to happen.


    Like humans who absorbed corruption, the monsters also changed when they absorbed more primordial particles.


    "Liu, preserve your strength for now, and wait until I tell you tounch your most powerful attack," Adam said, and even though Liu wasn''t sure of what Adam had in mind, she nodded and did as he said.


    After that Adam used his power to materialize the twenty meters wide ck cube and made them crash against the wall.


    Boom!


    The impact made the ground tremble and the wall crumbled down.


    It seemed like there was no other way but to go all out to run away.


    After that, the ck moved above Adam''s and the other, protecting them from the dragon''s mes, and followed them inside the walls.


    Even though Adam consumed a lot of strength by doing this, the dragons couldn''t reach them, and instead, they began to charge at the ck cube.


    But every time they did so, the dragons took damage, and Adam also felt the weight of these three gigantic monsters.


    However, their troubles didn''t end there, because as soon they managed to keep the dragons away, countless monsters began to rush at them.


    "Now, use your power, Liu!" Adam said, " And nca, make a hole on the ground that could lead us directly to the underground sewer, I will hold the dragons."


    Liu and nca nodded at Adam''s words and instantly began to take action.


    Liu activated her domain and created a wall of ice around the group keeping the monsters from reaching them, but she also uses her power to freeze almost every monster within fifty meters around them.


    Liu''s eyes were glittering and her clothes began to freeze and looked like she was wearing a crystal dress. She felt her power increasing, even though she should be already at her limit.


    She was discovering her new capabilities, and Adam was concerned about this, as no he didn''t know how the fragments of the Tree of life affected other individuals.


    As for nca, she began to use her power to make a hole in the ground by focusing her power on a single point.


    Despite how it looked, the ground was sturdy and even for nca''s power, it took some time to make a hole one it.


    "Roarr!"


    The dragon was not pleased to see the ck cube so they began to shower it with mes, and when they saw that it didn''t work, theynded down on the ground and began to look for Adam and the others, almost as if they were cats looking for mice.


    However, Adam just moved the ck cube in front of him and one of the dragons got crushed under it.


    "Roaar!"


    The monster struggled but Adam''s power was not something that it could fight against as long as he used his full power. Apart from manipting the shape of the ck cube, he could also alter its density and mass.


    <o>,m The dragon''s carapace began to corrode aftering in contact with the ck cube, but Adam didn''t want to destroy the ground as it would cause the monsters to follow them underground. It tried to breathe fire, but Liu''s wall of ice didn''t melt.</o>


    Seeing what was happening to their peers, the two other dragons immediately rose in the sky again, and as they did, Adam also lifted the ck cube above the group again.


    The dragon who was crushed under the ck cube wasn''t dead yet, but half of its body was damaged so it couldn''t fly any longer.


    "Rooooar!"


    As if crying in pain, it howled loudly, and Adam knew that this was not a good thing.


    "nca, are you done?" He asked.


    "Yes," nca answered.


    "Okay, let''s go!"


    The dragon was not howling without any reason, it was alerting its boss about a potential challenge as monsters liked fighting against stronger opponents.

 Chapter 112 One Year Of Madness (Part 7)

    Since the first time he explored the city, Adam always suspected the existence of a monster that was extremely powerful.


    The whole city was under the influence of this monster, or so Adam thought, and because of that, the other monsters no longer fought against themselves for dominance.


    "We need to reach the hidden area before the monsters reach this ce. We don''t have much time," Adam said, as the group made its way through the underground sewer.


    The sewer was as humid as always and full of disgusting substances, however, it was not the time to be concerned about such a thing.


    Even though Liu used her power to freeze the area around the hole that nca made, the monsters were now aware of the group''s presence, and they would do anything to hunt Adam and the others.


    Adam understand that the monsters had evolved, and despite trying to be as stealthily as possible while exploring the city, the monster managed to somehow notice the disruption in the atmosphere when Adam used his power.


    Consequently, it was more disadvantageous for them to move stealthily as they would waste a lot of time, and time was something precious in a situation like this one.


    Boom!


    The underground area shook violently as if there was an earthquake, but the group knew that it was a phenomenon caused by monsters and not the low-level ones.


    "Shiiiiisssh!"


    It seemed like the huge snakes were the first ones who managed to catch up to Adam and the others because their flexibility gave them a certain advantage when moving inside dark and narrow areas.


    "Pisss!"


    Those monsters began to block the way by entangling themselves together until the path waspletely shut off.


    After seeing what was happening, it was Liu who acted first by freezing the giant snakes to their bones.


    The snakes'' bodies turned into a frozen block of ice, and Adam finished the job by pulverizing them with a huge ck orb made of Darkmatter.


    The block of ice broke apart like statues made of ss and the group continued to advance.


    All of that happened in a very short amount of time, and Adam and Liu didn''t even need to talk with each other.


    However, they were still far from their destination, as the hidden area was right below the most iconic building of the city, Noble''s residence.


    The underground sewer system was a maze in itself, but Adam managed to create shortcuts by making holes in the walls, but even so, they still had a long way to go.


    Besides, now that they were moving in a group, the monsters could detect them more easily as their presence created a sort of disruption in the atmosphere when they used their power.


    This was a sort of instinct, like how high-level gift holders could pinpoint the location of another gift holder, but in the monsters'' case, it was more of an innate ability. Moreover, it seemed like they had evolved.


    "Kreeeee!"


    This time, goblins were trying to block the path, and these green creatures were riding on top of giant wolves.


    "Weapons?" Adam muttered, seeing the doubling wearing some kind of armors and holding swords made of Sterium.


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    The goblin riders rushed at the group with twisted looks on their face.


    But suddenly, a ck wall appeared in front of Adam, and the goblins along with the wolves that they were riding crashed against it.


    Thud!


    After that, another wall appeared behind the goblins.


    Then, the two walls moved toward each other and crushed the goblins in between as the group moved forward.


    Adam was as careful as before, so during all of this time, there was a ck wall behind the group, so they didn''t have to worry about sneak attacks. Well, Adam was wearing Cristal''s helmet so he was already aware of the goblin''s, but it was unavoidable.


    Crack! Crack!


    The bones of goblins and the wolves broke apart and finally they all got crushed, unable to do anything.


    However, the group didn''t have the time to contemte Adam''s ability, they needed to move forward.


    Boom!<sub> </sub>


    <o>,m All of this time, the whole underground area continued to quiver, and some part of it crumbled down.</o>


    Boom! Boom!


    Huge debris began to block the way as the whole city felt like it was on the verge of copsing.


    The monsters were more active than ever as if they were waiting for a situation like this to happen.


    Adam had always taken this risk into ount, but trying to ovee this situation and theorizing about it were two different things, because this time, he wasn''t alone, which was in a way a good thing but also implied more responsibility. He already made himself the leader of this group after all.


    Bianca and Adam began to deal with debris blocking the way by using their power.


    Adam created huge digging tools that spun without stopping just by using his thoughts, and nca used her blood to meet the rocks.


    This is the first time Liu and Zax witnessed Adam''s and nca''s real power so they were stunned by how good they were at controlling their abilities.


    After all, Liu stillcked this kind of control and could only create a wall of ice at most. She knew that her power would freeze everything if she did something else, so she tried to focus on what she could do instead of trying to show off needlessly.


    "We are almost there!" Adam said, trying to tell the girls that they could do this.


    Still, among this group, there was a person who felt like she was useless. For a while now, Zax didn''t do anything, or more precisely, she couldn''t do anything and just continued to tag along while being protected.


    Even though Adam already made it clear that she was important, as she was a specialist when it came to the spaceship, which would save them a lot of time, Zax felt that she would be able to do more if she had a gift.


    "Skeeech!"


    After the goblins were taken care of, this time, giant spiders began to appear in front of the group.


    It seemed like there was some kind of huge cocoons all around the area, and sticky webs covered the walls and the pathway.


    Adam knew that these monsters weren''t there before, so they must have appeared thereafter nca and he fought the tentacle monster.


    These huge ck spiders were extremely horrifying, with their long legs and their body which was covered with something simr to fur.


    In his life, there was something that Adam dislike, and it was arachnids and insects with numerous legs, so the sight of the spiders made him frown.


    "Ksssssss!"


    The spiders began to move toward Adam and the others and their legs made a very unnerving sound. Just seeing their red eyes and the environment where they dwelled could send arachnophobic'' screaming, if not passing out instantly.


    Fortunately, Adam could still keep his mind calm and think rationally, but his reaction was still slower than usual.


    Thus, it was Liu and nca who moved first, showing that even though they were women, they were not bothered by the ugliness of the monsters in front of them.


    "Ksssss!"


    The spiders shot their webs, but Liu and nca protected the group against the monsters'' attack by creating a wall of ice and a red crimson tornado.


    After that, Liu reached her hand and the wall of ice fell apart and turned into a white fog.


    At first, the spiders didn''t feel anything because the white seemed to have no effect, but suddenly, their movements began to slow until they couldn''t move. Their body was frozen from the inside after they inhaled the white fog.


    nca finished the spiders by using the blood to create an explosive wave.


    Boom!


    All of that happened in a second, and Adam smiled a little after looking at the two women in front of him. Even though he still had to make sure that the ck wall that he created for the group could keep the monsters that were pursuing them away, he also needed to concentrate on finding the best way to follow, so it was always good to have reliable allies around.


    Adam might be strong but he wasn''t omnipotent, and his human traits and fears were still there even though he had better control over them. Insects and arachnids happened to be the things that he couldn''t stand.


    "Let''s continue!" Adam said, knowing that it was a race against time from there.


    Even though Liu, nca, and he were powerful individuals, their strength wasn''t unlimited, and they were still humans who needed to sleep and eat.


    Adam was the one who was using his head and his body the most, and although he constantly kept track of his mental and physical state, there was no telling when a critical situation where he needed to use his full strength would arise again.

 Chapter 113 One Year Of Madness (Part 8)

    The more the group progressed towards the center of the city, the more frequent their encounter with monsters was.


    Swoosh!


    Fwooosh!


    nca and Liu continued to take care of the monsters, while Adam made sure that they aren''t attacked from the back.


    The ck wall that protected the group against the monsters who pursued them was thick, and since Adam was using his power to control it, he consumed a lot of primordial particles.


    Moreover, the monsters that were behind them were almost as many as those who they had already dealt with.


    "It''s just around this corner," Adam said, referring to the storage room where the secret door leading to the hidden area was located.


    This was indeed the nearest door leading to the underground pathway, and the other doors were located farther somewhere around the city, but since nca and Adam had already attracted the attention of some monsters thest time they explored this area, Adam had already expected that it would be not as easy as before.


    "Kssssssss!"


    As expected, the storage was now best for some disturbing-looking monsters.


    Just by looking at the numerous limbs attached to the body of this monster, Adam could tell that this was a centipede, but unlike a normal one, this monster was horrifyingly big.


    The monster affixed itself to the walls and its extremely long body covered the whole area, as it crawled back and forth along the ceiling, the wall, and the ground.


    After seeing the mere appearance of this monster, Adam got goosebumps all over his body, and it was a reaction that he couldn''t control unless he was in a state in which he didn''t feel any fear.


    This ck monster didn''t only have a disturbing look, it also had a really sickening smell and looked like it was extremely venomous.


    "Ksssssssssss!"


    Noticing Adam and the others, the monster let out an aggravating sound that could affect one''s hearing if they weren''t strong enough. Fortunately, Zax was protected by Cristal''s helmet when the monster produced this horrendous sound.


    Looking at this monster, Adam started to think seriously about what happened to these monsters. Only one year had passed, but these creatures evolved very quickly and dangerously.


    If such a thing continued, if these monsters were to multiply, the rest of the universe would have a serious problem, and the destruction of the world wasn''t even improbable anymore.


    ''From where did all of these monsterse from anyway? Is this also rted to the ''Viiness shall be mine'' mission? I wonder where is the connection between all of this is? Aren''t things continuing to get out of hand? Adam wondered, and he had taken the reason behind his second chance, his lifetime mission, more seriously, giving it a codename.


    Although, It was also sarcasm towards the one who was behind his reincarnation, the one that he suspected to be observing him all the time.


    Fwooosh!


    Suddenly, an icy breeze filled the area, and the giant centipede began to struggle violently.


    During this short amount of time, Liu was already learning more about her new abilities, and it showed that she was also smart.


    The temperature lowered a few hundred Celsius below zero, but the group wasn''t affected, implying that Liu''s control improved gradually.


    However, she was still a little bit afraid of doing something more extreme, as she knew that she would lose control, even for a short amount of time, and it would be dangerous for her and the others.


    "Kssss!"


    The giant centipede tried tounch a direct attack because it looked like its carapace protected it against the extreme temperatures, but nca''s sword prated its head and rooted it on the ground.


    Thud! Thud!


    After that, other crimson swords and spears stabbed the centipede all other its body, until it couldn''t move any longer.


    nca and Liu worked together without even discussing with each other, and this sort of teamwork was the result of the tension created by the situation.


    Crack!


    ? The monster''s body broke apart without being able to do anything. It didn''t even put up a fight against these two powerful women.


    "The door is somewhere around there," Adam said, approaching the wall where the door of the secret pathway was hidden.


    Like before, opening the door took a little bit of time, so there was a need to keep an eye at the entrance of the storage rook even though Adam prevented the monsters from entering with the ck wall.<sub> </sub>


    Boom! Boom!


    After the group entered the storage room, the monsters began to charge at the wall, causing the whole room to quiver.


    All of this created a weird tension in the atmosphere as there was no telling what would happen next.


    Boom! Boom!


    Cracks began to appear on the walls and the ceiling begin to crumble bit by bit.


    During that time, Adam had already solved the puzzle and was about to input the code onto the next door.


    Liu looked at Adam carefully, wondering how exactly Adam managed to make all of that preparation in such a short amount of time. She understood that she had underestimated him in many ways.


    Before, Adam only appeared as a spoiled fifteen years old kin, but at that moment, she admitted that he had already reached a level far above her.


    "Okay, let''s go," Adam said, then he looked back at the state of the storage and estimated the numbers and the strength of the monsters that could cause this tremor.


    ''It seems like we don''t have much time. Shorter than I expected¡­'' Adam thought to himself, adjusting his n inside of his mind based on the appearance of new variables.


    The biggest problem was, of course, the big boss, and even though Adam already expected that he would encounter this monster if it existed, the reality was a little bit different from his imagination.


    Nevertheless, it was something that needed to deal with, and as long as the ship could leave this, he would make sure that this boss monster didn''t get in the way.


    After that, the group continued to move forward, and from there they didn''t encounter any monsters so they quickly made it to the hidden area.


    "It''s really huge," Zax said after seeing the ship, and this was the first time she talked again since they left.


    "Yes, we don''t have time to admire it though," Adam said, knowing that the ship had a cool design. "nca and I will look for the generators, and you both deal with the control room."


    "Leave it to me," Zax said enthusiastically, knowing that this was the time for her to finally show her skill and be useful to the group.


    "Okay," Liu said, and then she immediately entered the ship with Zax.


    Adam''s instruction was a little bit vague this time, but it was mostly directed to Zax who understood that getting familiar with control was a must, and she also needed to make sure that everything was still working.


    *****


    "Nothing is working here," nca said, after inspecting the various devices inside the faculties built inside the hidden area. "There must be a hiddenpartment where the generators are located somewhere."


    "Yes, that''s what we are looking for, but we should also look for conserved foods or water while we are here," Adam said, searching the room thoughtfully without missing anything. He was even using Cristal''s x-ray vision and other scanners to make sure of that.


    "Okay, I found the blueprint of this whole area," he added, "Let''s see, so the generators are located in the basement of that building."


    Finding the blueprint made things easier, that was why Adam tried to look for one before anything else.


    "To save time, you can continue to gather foods and other useful things that we might need," Adam said. "Can I trust you with that? It''s important."


    "Yes, leave it to me," nca answered.


    After nodding at nca''s words, Adam made his way to the next building, and as he did, various thoughts crossed his mind.


    He didn''t expect the hidden area to be able to hold the monsters for a long time, and that was why it was important to think about a n B if the generators weren''t operational.


    ''The most realistic solution, which would not waste too much time, would be to make a hole in the ceiling," he thought to himself, "but that would be dangerous, mostly if I run out of strength before thest boss appears. I need to think about more possibilities."


    However, at that point, the other options came with unpredictable risks that even Adam couldn''t predict, making him a little bit anxious.


    After all, he didn''t know what this one particr monster was capable of.


    ''The evolution of these monsters is concerning,'' he thought as he entered the building.


    As soon as he stepped into the room, he began to explore his surrounding while trying to find the way to the basement.


    "It seems like this whole facility was well maintained," Adam mumbled, " I begin to wonder, what exactly were they doing here?"

 Chapter 114 One Year Of Madness (Part 9)

    "It must be around here," Adam said, entering a door that was located at the bottom of a stairway, just after he finished inspecting the whole building.


    The building in question served a lot of purposes, and it was clearly a sort of facility dedicated to the development of new technologies, but that was not all; somewhere in one of the rooms, there was apartment that was not like the others, because human blood covered the room and several tools which were not certainly used by a doctor were present.


    "Was father aware of all of that," Adam wondered, but he quickly dismissed the thought as there was no use in thinking about such a detail.


    However, he began to understand that the dark side of the world wasn''t always rted to the monsters.


    As various thoughts crossed Adam''s mind, he finally the room where the generators were installed.


    "Okay, let''s see what we''ve got here," Adam said to himself and began to wander around, examining the generators carefully.


    The generators were huge tubes that were built like pirs all around the rooms, and next to each one, there were control panels with different switches and buttons.


    "I see, so these need to be activated one by one." Adam didn''t explore the buildings without no reason, as time was already limited, and he was trying to find clues on how to operate the generators and open the path.


    "Mmm, let''s try with one first," Adam mumbled, approaching one of the control panels.


    From what he understood, these generators generated power from Gravitum, and they were the source of power for almost half of the city.


    He was impressed by what people in this world had aplished. Not only the Gravitum could generate a lot of power, but these stones also didn''t create any pollution and were less dangerous than nuclear generators.


    Kepalta also had these generators, but Adam didn''t take the time to carefully observe them before, even though he found them interesting.


    He also began to wonder about the origin of these stones, but knowing that wasn''t his priority, so he continued to inspect the control panel.


    "Did it work," Adam said because nothing happened after he followed the instructions on the steps to follow to activate generators. With Cristal''s help, it was not hard to find those kinds of documents.


    "Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!"


    After a few seconds, the generator began to make a buzzing sound, then the interior of the tube glowed a blue effervescent light.


    Adam was quite delighted to see that the generator was still operating. With this, he could proceed to thest phase of his n.


    It was true that they were lucky, but that was only because Adam made sure that they didn''t run out of luck by doing everything he could to lower the risks of mistakes.


    He was growing, and it was just the start, but at the same time, he was also maturing as a person, in a lot of ways.


    To save time, Adam used the dark matter and switched, at the same time, as many generators as possible.


    "Okay, this should do it, how''s Zax doing?" Adam said, and he was about to contact Zax via Cristal''s helmet when suddenly, a chilling sensation ran over his back.


    *****


    "Hmmm, is this edible," nca wondered, looking at the weird items that she found inside a box somewhere inside of one the building.


    It seemed like this building was simr to a storage room, and a lot of survival rations there.


    After the invasion, the people who were rted to the nobles and were using this facility moved all of their rations into this storage, but unfortunately, they didn''t even get the chance to make use of them.


    "It tastes good, so it must be edible," nca concluded after trying to open one of the aluminum packages and eating whatever was inside. She didn''t even bother looking at the instructions or the expiration date. She couldn''t read them after all, even though her psychic ability helped her to pick up a certainnguage quickly.


    "I should bring these boxes outside for now," she said and began to carry the boxes outside the buildings.


    "Mmm?!" After she carried thest box outside, she could see that the area was illuminated. "I guess he found the generators."


    Bianca wanted to go check what Adam found, but when she took two or three steps forward, her sharp instinct sensed something behind and she turned back immediately.


    "H....u¡­.m¡­a¡­n?"


    The thing in front of nca muttered these words, and tilted its head, looking at her like a baby looking at an adult.


    However, far from the appearance of an innocent baby, the thing in front of her, even though with a humanoid form, was devoid of human traits. Its body was coated with ck and red scales, and instead of hairs, its head was covered with long spikes that appeared to be moving.


    With Its red eyes, devoid of emotions, the thing continued to stare at nca.


    With hesitation, of course, nca attacked this monster intending to kill it.<sub> </sub>


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Five crimson spears headed at the monster in the blink of an eye.


    Fwoosh!


    However, nca couldn''t see anythinging, and before she knew it, she had already a hole in her stomach.


    She didn''t let her guard down, and she didn''t take her enemy lightly, but somehow, she didn''t see when the monster got behind her.


    "Kuuh!" nca coughed a mouthful of blood, and she understood that she had taken critical damage.


    Even though she was a vampire, this kind of wound needed some time topletely heal, and she had not evenpletely recovered from her previous injuries yet.


    The monster, on the other hand, began to lick nca''s blood left on its hand. As he did, its eyes widened, and he looked at nca again, this time, with wide open eyes.


    This was not a good sign, and the monster looked like it wanted to devour nca after tasting her blood.


    nca didn''t know how this monster managed to get inside the hidden area, but it was very bad news.


    Not only this humanoid monster was strong, but it was also extremely fast, all of that, with just its physical ability.


    "K¡­.k¡­" The monster was trying to mutter something.


    Boom!


    At that time, a ck cube sted the monster away and crushed it against one of the buildings.


    "nca!" Adam finally arrived, but he was, once again, one step toote.


    He was always concerned about the changes that were happening to the monsters, but he never imagined that they would evolve to that point.


    Adam instantly understood how that monster managed to get within the hidden area. Normally, the bigger the monsters, the stronger they were; but in this particr case, their size didn''t match their strength, so with their physical strength and size, it wouldn''t even be an exaggeration to say that they could swim through the ground.


    "Hand in there!" Adam said, realizing that nca''s wound was serious. However, he didn''t have any healing ability or the skills of a professional doctor.


    Moreover, the monster, even though crushed under the ck cube, managed to stand back on his feet.


    For it to be able to do that, its scales must have been made of extremely durable elements, because the Darkmatter couldn''t instantly disintegrate it.


    Not only that, but Adam had already activated his nullification ability, but with its physical strength alone, it managed to move.


    "This is not good," Adam said, realizing the monster''s nature and what it was capable of, just by taking into ount the fact that it could take one of his attacks and could move within his nullification field. He only met one opponent who could do that before.


    "I¡­will be¡­fine," nca said meekly, trying to tell Adam that the monster was more of


    "What''s going on?" Zax asked through Cristal''s helmet, then rushed outside to the scene along with Liu.


    "Don''te here! Take care of nca," Adam said, putting his cape on nca. With the cape on her back, nca floated to Liu and Zax.


    Adam knew that his ability would affect Liu too, but he couldn''t let the monster move freely.


    However, when Adam was still thinking about how to deal with the monster because it was still alive even though he was crushing it between two ck cubes, something in the monster changed.


    There were blue mes,ing out of its body, bit by bit, and the ground began to turn intova. Along with that, the monster''s chest began to glow, and suddenly¡­.


    "Roaaaaar!"


    ¡­.The monster let out a loud cry, and a surge of energy came off its body. More precisely, these were mes, but blue mes, with such intensity that they appeared to be white.


    Even Adam''s nullification ability couldn''t do anything about it, so he surrounded the monster with a wall made of dark matter.


    By doing this, the surge of energying from the monster was directed upward and to the ground.


    Boooom!

 Chapter 115 Darkness

    Boooom!


    The humanoid monster continued to unleash a very destructive wave of energy, and Adam had a hard time preventing the monster from destroying the whole area, including the ship and the food supplies.


    He used a lot of strength to make the Darkmatter thicker and denser, and slowly contained the monster inside a ck sphere.


    "Aaaaaaaa!" He cried, trying to summon all of his strength and crush the monster that was inside the ck sphere.


    However, the monster''s attack had already made a hole in the ceiling, and a few flying monsters managed to pass through this hole.


    "Monsters areing!!" Zax shouted, pointing at the hole in the ceiling.


    Swoosh!


    Liu acted without dy and rushed at the flying monsters. Crystal wings made of ice appeared on her back and more than fifty ice swords materialized in her surrounding.


    "Bzzzzz!"


    The monsters noticed Liu, but they didn''t even try to hide their intentions.


    Of course, their presence didn''t intimidate her in the least, and soon, some of the monsters began to freeze in mid-air and then fell down like flies. Ironically, these monsters were insect types.


    However, the lesser wyverns were tougher and trickier. They avoided Liu''s attack, and instead of attacking back, they left the low-level monsters to distract Liu while they roamed around the hidden area, breathing fire at everything they see.


    "Tsk!" Liu understood that these monsters were more intelligent than they appeared to be.


    Fwooosh!


    A wall of ice appeared around the ship to prevent the wyverns from damaging it.


    Roooar!


    The monsters rushed through the hole, and in just a few minutes, their numbers had already exceeded two hundred.


    Liu nced at Adam who had reached both of his hands towards the ck sphere as if he was squeezing something in between.


    Seeing the intense expression on Adam''s face, she understood that the opponent wasn''t an easy one. Until now, Liu had never seen Adam making such a face, even though the circumstances were always more than critical.


    Consequently, this was something beyond critical, Liu concluded, preparing her mind for the worst.


    "Damn it!" Adam cursed, knowing that the situation had taken a very bad turn. He was already using a lot of power to restrain the humanoid monster, but it wasn''t enough as he felt a powerful force trying to break out of the ck sphere.


    The flying monsters were one thing, but the humanoid monster had clearly evolved and reached a different level of existence altogether.


    Adam had taken into consideration a lot of things, but even with his imagination, he couldn''t predict the future.


    It was faint, but Adam could see that the ck sphere''s color began to change.


    "What kind of monster is this?" He asked himself, knowing that the Darkmatter was not something that could be damaged; however, what was happening in front of him suggested that it was not impossible.


    The ck sphere turned into a ball of magma and the temperature around the area increased dramatically.


    Adam''s ability was overwhelmed by the heat produced by the monster, and such a thing was not something that happened easily.


    The atoms themselves were heating up and began to change into something new. After all, the Darkmatter had this particr trait.


    Nevertheless, the monster began to emerge out of the ball of magma.


    Adam used his power to push the monster back, but the result was the same.


    "Rooooar!"


    Two pairs of wings appeared on the monster''s back, and its body had now an orange glow as if it was made of magma.


    The monster soared to the sky, and even Adam''s nullification power couldn''t restrain it because of its phenomenal physical strength.


    Adam began to think about a way to deal with the monster quickly because time was something that they didn''t have.


    "I didn''t expect the boss to appear her in that form," he said, knitting his eyebrows, as he looked up to the ceiling. "The quickest way to deal with would be to cut its head off and crush the heart, but¡­"


    Knowing that the Darkmatter, one of his trump cards, wasn''t as effective as before, Adam began to think about other ways to deal with the problem.<sub> </sub>


    "But first," he said, reaching his hand towards the ball of magma, "get out of here!!"


    Heunched the ball of magma towards the hole, then released his control over it. He didn''t know what would happen because the Darkmatter turning into magma was a phenomenon that never urred before.


    Normally, once he released his control over the Darkmatter, it just faded away like sands, but what if it was a ball of magma?


    Boom!


    "Looks like my theory was right," Adam said, "I just need to get the hang of it, and I would be, more or less, able to control all of the elements."


    There was no time to explore his ability further, but Adam theorized that the Darkmatter could merge with any kind of particles.


    With this ability, Adam could converge the neutral particles into particles that had at least ten percent Antmatters property.


    However, he was unable to sense the presence of other particles in the environment due to his ability, so he couldn''t explore the other aspect of his power.


    "Fire¡­" Adam mumbled, looking at the humanoid monster who was destroying everything that came across it.


    The heat emanating from its body was too intense that monsters within the area of fifty meters around it turned into charcoal.


    Even Liu''s wall of ice began to melt and she felt that the temperature continued to increase.


    "A dragon with a humanoid form," Adam said, as he got close to Liu. "It seems like we are not at the end of our surprise."


    "A dragon? How can that be? It''s too powerful¡­" Liu said.


    The dragon who was now in a humanoid form was wary of Adam and kept its distance, waiting for an opportunity to strike again, but it was also taking advantage of the low-level monsters to keep Adam and Liu distracted.


    "Liu, take the ships and leave before they get damaged. I will hold this monster here, and I will catch you up after, and in the meantime, need to protect the ship," Adam said, "Can I trust you with that? We don''t have time¡­"


    Liu looked like she was a little bit confused by Adam''s words, but then she said, "Okay."


    Adam knew that with her domain, Liu could protect the ship even if she was inside it,


    "Cristal, go and open the path," Adam said, instructing Cristal, who had transformed into her humanoid form, to activate the mechanism that would open a path for the ship to be able to leave the underground area.


    "Roger," Cristal answered.


    "Be prudent," Liu mumbled, stopping for a few seconds without turning back before heading towards the ship.


    Hearing what Liu said, Adam smiled, and then he said, "Thanks buddy, but I will be one my ow this time."


    After that, the ck cape followed Liu, and Adam was standing on top of a ck cube.


    All of this time, he didn''t stop dealing with the monster within twenty meters around him, using the invisible wires to take them by surprise.


    "I don''t want to be naked again, but it seems like I don''t have the choice," Adam said to himself. He was about to use his ultimate trump card, and he couldn''t have Cristal or the ck cape on him.


    Moreover, there was also something that Adam was interested in. The monster was indeed stronger, and the most probable exnation for this was the primordial particles that it had absorbed, causing it to evolve to the next level of its existence as a monster.


    ''Monsters'' cores are in a way a source of power, aren''t they?'' Adam thought, and what he was trying to do was something that appeared to be stupid.


    Before, he had already extracted Rudeus''s power to save Liu, but what about a monster''s power.


    Of course, Adam knew that this was not the time to be fooling around, however, he wasn''t stupid as to let such an opportunity slip away.


    There was no telling when he would encounter a monster who had evolved to such an extent again, but he also needed to evolve in one way or another, thus he also viewed these monsters as a way to test out his theories.


    ''I need to acquire the ability to produce fire,'' Adam thought. ''Even an insignificant me. As long as I can feel the presence of other primordial particles in my body, everything else would be easy.''


    Adam was trying to force overwhelm his nullification ability so that he could feel the presence of other particles.


    The ball ofva gave him this idea, seeing how the heat overwhelmed the nullification traits of the Darkmatter.


    Nevertheless, he knew that things wouldn''t be that easy, because he would have already managed to do it a long time ago.


    After all, what he was about to do was try to create his elemental particles.

 Chapter 116 Light

    "Zax, let''s go," Liu said, "We are counting on you to make the ship fly out of here. I will take care of the monsters."


    "But what about Adam?" Zax asked, looking at nca who was still covered in blood in front of her.


    nca said that she would be fine, and she just needed to rest for a while. From Zax''s point of view, however, seeing nca injured, Adam who appeared to be struggling, and the monsters rampaging, made her more and more anxious.


    She didn''t want to see one of her friends dying, and she would never ept sacrificing one of them so that she would live.


    "Don''t worry," Liu said with a confident look on her face. "We will leave this ce alive. He knows what he is doing."


    Looking at Liu, Zax felt like Liu had regained her confidence. This must be because she realized that she wasn''t as weak as she thought she was.


    "Okay, count on me!" Zax answered in a determined tone.


    Apart from noticing the change in Liu''s attitude, Zax also trusted Adam''s decision, and she knew that he wasn''t the kind of person to die in such a ce.


    "Guh!" nca tried to stand up, but her wounds had not recoveredpletely.


    Liu supported her, and then the three women headed to the ship''s entrance.


    During all of that, Liu''s wall of ice prevented the monsters from reaching them, and her power didn''t weaken even after the humanoid monster created a heat wave all around the area.


    Swoosh!


    Seeing that the ship was still vulnerable to some attacks, Liu decided to extend the wall of ice, creating a hemisphere.


    "Thanks," nca said, sitting on a chair somewhere within themand room of the ship.


    "You really don''t need any treatment?" Liu asked.


    "No, I will be fine if I just rest for a while¡­ Sorry, I am not much of help like this."


    "It''s fine," Liu said, not trying to be sarcastic, "just rest for now."


    After saying these words, Liu approached Zax who was making sure that everything was ready for their departure.


    There were a lot of buttons on the ship''s main console, and with Cristal''s help, Zax could manage to handle the whole ship by herself.


    "Do you need help?" Liu asked.


    "I will be fine," Zax said, smiling at Liu, "continue to protect the ship."


    "Okay," Liu answered, looking at the petite woman in front of her who appeared dependable.


    Liu used a lot of strength to create a domain, and the monsters wanted to destroy the wall of ice protecting the ship.


    She understood that Adam trusted her because the ship was the most important thing for their survival. If he didn''t trust her, however, he wouldn''t leave this task to her.


    At least, that was what Liu thought, and she was determined to make sure that the ship leave the with everyone alive.


    "Are you ready? I am going to open the path," Cristal who was next to Zax said, transmitting the words of the other part of her which was somewhere inside the buildings.


    "Yes, we are ready to go!" Zax said, pushing a button on the board.


    After that, the ship''s engine activated, and the monsters could feel the tremoring from this gigantic vessel.


    Brrrrrrrrr!


    The whole underground began to shake violently, then the ceiling began to shift, revealing a sort of huge portal.


    Brrrrr!


    The portal opened, and sunlight began to prate the underground area, but of course, monsters rushed in as soon they saw that the way was open.


    "Let''s go," Liu said, and as soon as she said these words, the wall of ice vanished.


    Vzzzzzzzzz!


    The ship''s engine propelled the ship forward, and it headed straight toward the thousands of monsters who rushed down toward the ground.


    Seeing those monsters, Zax stayed determined and trusted the woman next to her. She knew that before, Liu was powerful, but during thest few days, she grew into a much more powerful individual.


    While Zax was thinking about these things, Liu''s eyes glowed, and her clothes turned into a crystal dress again.


    However, this time, even Zax''s eyes widened, because Liu''s hair turned Crystal blue as if her body itself turned into a source of ice elemental particles.<sub> </sub>


    After this phenomenon, two dragons materialized around the ship, and these two beasts were so big that the ship looked small next to them.


    The dragons were so real to that point that the low-level monsters began to have second thoughts.


    These two mystical-looking beasts were a few hundred long, and they had two horns that looked like a branch of a tree.


    Roooar!


    As they roared, their breath turned everything that came in contact with it into a block of ice. Even their body was made of pure ice elemental particles that froze the atoms of oxygen in the atmosphere.


    As the ship was trying to leave the underground area, the dragon circled and flew alongside it, defending against the monsters'' attack.


    Even Liu herself wasn''t sure if she would be able to control her power to this extent, but she was determined to not be a burden to Adam and protect Zax with everything she had.


    She had a lot of regrets, and there were things that she couldn''t change, but her power, or more precisely, the fragment of the tree of life answered her deepest wish and gave her the ability to ovee her past.


    Of course, she couldn''t use the full power of the fragment yet. Even Rudeus could only use less than one percent of its power. However, Liu was a strong woman despite her ws, so she didn''t turn into a different person, overwhelmed by the tree fragment, after she began to awaken her new power.


    ''With this, I will be able to face father head-on,'' Liu said to herself, ''I need to survive!"


    She knew that taking her father down wasn''t an easy thing to do, and even if she managed to do it, trying to keep her n from falling apart was more difficult.


    She was still inexperienced and na?ve, she admitted, but even so, she couldn''t let her father continue his evil deeds, as a lot of people would suffer while he was still the head of the n even for a day.


    *****


    "What can I say," Adam mumbled, looking at Liu''s demonstration of power, "she exceeded all of my expectations."


    At first, Adam wasn''t sure if Liu would be able to control her power or not, after all, he was the one who put the Tree fragment inside her body. Even though he did it to save her life, she felt that it was also his responsibility to make sure that she didn''t suffer more after being saved.


    "These dragons are cool, looks like Sh***ron," Adam said and began tough alone.


    Even though he appeared to be unconcerned, the thousands of ck spears around him continued to kill monsters without stopping.


    Adam''s attitude also suggested that he was approaching he was past his limit, but thinking about such a thing, he thought, wouldn''t make the situation any better.


    "I have a core to collect," he said, looking at the humanoid dragon who wasing after the ship. "Okay, let''s take this outside."


    Swoosh!


    Standing on a ck cube, Adam soared to the sky, following the ship and the humanoid monster.


    The other monsters blocked his path, but without any difficulty, Adam took care of them all.


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Once again, he was covered with the monster''s blood, and his whole body ached. His head felt like it was about to blow up, but he couldn''t stop, so he just smiled.


    Adam never recoveredpletely, and since he was using a lot of strength even if he just control the ck cube with his thought, he began to feel exhausted mentally.


    Even though he learned the ability to recover by absorbing neutral particles, along with his amazing healing ability, his mind was different.


    "This freak is fast," Adam said, looking at the winged humanoid monster in front of him. "I need to increase my speed."


    Swoosh!


    The low-level monsters couldn''t catch up with Adam and the ship anymore, but there were a few wyverns and dragons who didn''t want to let the ship go.


    "Just a little bit¡­" Then, he reached his hand, with a smile on his face, and suddenly a ck wall appeared in front of the humanoid monster.


    Boom!


    The monster crashed against the wall, making it more irritated.


    "Raaaaaaaaaa!! Huuuuu¡­Mmmaaa¡­nnn¡­." It cried.


    "It looks like it hasn''tpletely finished evolving," Adam mumbled, even though the humanoid monster rushed toward him. "I am curious about its final form, but I guess I will use the core for now."


    His nonchnt attitude suggested that he didn''t intend to die, and despite everything, seeing that the ship was flying made him feel relieved.


    ncing down at the city, Adam could see a lot of monsters who were gathered in a single spot below him.


    "It''s time to destroy you all!"

 Chapter 117 Shadow Of The Past

    Rooar!


    Coming after the ship, dozens of ck-scaled dragons began to attack the ship by breathing zing purple mes.


    "What are we going to do now?" Zax asked, knowing that the spaceship was in good condition, and she could immediately active the hyper-speed propulsor.


    "We will wait for him," Liu answered and looked at the dragons who were attacking them through the ship''s wide windows.


    Despite the appearance of the humanoid monster, the group was quite lucky, because the ship was in a good state and the generators were still working.


    Moreover, Liu and Adam were strong enough to handle the monsters. All of that made things look easier, but if it wasn''t for the fact that Adam gave Liu the tree fragment, things would be more difficult.


    "Okay, but is he going to be fine though? That monster looked extremely strong," Zax asked, worrying about Adam who hadn''t shown any sign of weakness since theye back from beyond the portal until that humanoid monster appeared in front of him.


    "He¡­ He is not someone who will die in a ce like this," Liu said, and as if she was thinking about making things easier for Adam, the mystical dragon that she created with her power merged into one and turned into a bigger creature with seven heads.


    Zax couldn''t see the whole fight, but she could follow what was happening outside through the ship''s monitor.


    The ck dragon breathed purple fire that could melt the ship''s body if it came in contact with it, but Liu''s seven-headed creature concerned them by breathing a white torrent that could freeze the oxygen in the atmosphere.


    ''This is crazy¡­'' Zax thought to herself, remembering what she had to go through to save Liu. She was d that she tried, even though, in the end, she couldn''t do anything, but she was d to be the witness of this epic scene.


    Zax admired the woman in front of her, and she was also grateful, but seeing Liu like this, she felt grateful to her and was determined to do her best to be of any help.


    ''I can only do this, and I am sure that Liu and Adam would always thank me for what I do for them¡­ Even though, they already did so much for me¡­'' Zax thought to herself.


    The petite woman with pink her was giftless and sometimes, she wished that she could do more than just watch. However, that was just because her talentsy in a different field, and Adam knew this.


    "Beat them all, Liu!!" Zax shouted.


    Hearing Zax''s words, a faint smile appeared on Liu''s face. "As if I would let these thingse any closer!"


    Boom!


    The seven-headed creature extended and grew bigger, then it began to hunt the ck-scaled dragons as if they were butterflies.


    Fwooosh!


    nca just looked at the whole scene with a faint smile on her face. She thought to herself that Liu and Adam were quite simr in some areas.


    These two weren''t always honest with their feelings and tended to think about a lot of things, forgetting the essentials but in the end, they weren''t bad people, or so nca concluded.


    ''Maybe¡­ I will be able to tell them everything,'' she thought, but she knew that her secret was too important, and it might even cause a lot of destruction, however, she wouldn''t be able to carry it alone anymore. She had a feeling, and somehow, she felt like she was the only one left. That was why she had that reaction when she saw Adam.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    ''Here we go again,'' I thought, looking at the situation.


    I knew that because I was reincarnated, I was in a way the main character of a aome kind of plot, but still, everything was happening so fast and changed so suddenly.


    Just a few weeks ago, I was still eating dinner with my parents, talking about how excited I was to attend the Holy Academy, not caring about the Holy Church, humanoid monster, tree fragments, and whatever else¡­


    Now, I was floating above a city that was once submerged underwater, then colonized by monsters. Not to mention the huge intergctic octopus that was eating the whole.


    In my life, I always wished for something to happen, and now, it was happening. Was I happy about it? Was I excited about it? What did I expect in the first ce?


    "Well, what else can be more exciting than seeing yourself bing a God, hahaha!" I shouted and blocked the beam of light that the humanoid monster fired at me from its mouth.


    Boom!


    People always yearn for things they didn''t possess, and I was one of those people.<sub> </sub>


    Ironically, even if I was given the choice between dying in peace or getting reincarnated in this world, I would have still chosen the second option


    So, was Iining? Of course not. I was even extremely delighted by the sight of the creatures in front of me.


    "Hahaha! As if I will let you crush my dreams!!!" I shouted, and of course, everything that I thought before was sarcasm.


    "A peaceful life, normal friends, a perfect woman, why do I feel like I will end up not having such a thing if this continues?!! Everything leads to chaos and f*cking destruction!"


    To put it simply, it was as if I wanted to y a wholesome dating simtor game, but first, I needed to pass the horrorr-themed tutorial.


    "Sigh! I needed to let that out¡­" I mumbled, after shouting. "Okay, it''s time to take care of you all."


    Despite all, I intended to see the end of all of this and achieve what I believed to be a perfect life, I would not let anything stop me from bing someone that could make my dream a reality with my own hands.


    "Roooaaar!"


    After shooting a beam of light, which was a pure form of energy, the monster roared, seeing that I could defend against it.


    I didn''t expect it to understand what I was saying, and I was just trying to evacuate some of my frustrations, but it felt good.


    I didn''t have much time left before I ran out of strength, so I intended to finish it all with one attack.


    In theory, the Antimmater could destroy the fabric of reality itself, but I didn''t know what exactly would happen if I did so.


    I took a deep breath and calmed my mind. I removed every unnecessary thought inside my head, and I began to focus only on the various quirks inside of me.


    First, I could feel the nullification ability that flowed like a water stream throughout my whole body. Then, I could also feel the link between my body and the Darkmatter which was relied upon by my astral form.


    Finally, it was faint, but I could feel the Antimatter. It was at the heart of my very being, a wall between me and the unknown beyond.


    To materialize the antimatter outside my body, I needed a lot of strength, mostly, to be able to withstand the weight of this pure destructive power.


    Before materializing the Antimatter, I absorbed the unknown energy and pushed my body to the limit, but this unknown energy was very faint in this world, and I also felt like it was lethal to me.


    Nevertheless, I had another stupid and reckless idea. However, without taking risks, there would be no progress.


    Thus, I raised my hand and Cristal brought me the monster''s core that she had collected.


    "Just stay put!" I said, confining the humanoid monster inside a ck sphere again, but this time, I made it three times thicker.


    "Are you sure about this, Master?" Cristal asked.


    "At this point, I am not sure of anything. I just have many theories and a wild imagination. Isn''t it great? Haha."


    "Well, if you say so," Cristal replied, but I was still wondering about everything she knew.


    Of course, I would talk with her after everything calmed down, and it seemed like she was waiting for me to bring it up.


    "These monsters umted a vast amount of primordial particles during all of this time. If I could make use of this, I would probably have enough power to control the Antimmater for a short time, so I won''t end up half dead like before."


    "I see," Cristal said without showing any emotion. "Well, could you hurry up? Miss Liu is almost at her limit. However, she is prideful so she wouldn''t say it, but if she copses now, the progress in your rtionship would be reset."


    "Well, it seems like you observed a lot of things. I would like to know about your findingster," I said.


    After that, I used my astral form to insert some of my energy inside the monster''s cores. I wasn''t sure if I was doing the right thing, but I wanted to converge the particles of energy inside of cores before absorbing them.


    The cores reacted and began to glow.


    "Is it working? Well, let''s proceed!"


    Well, at first, I was focusing on leaving this as fast as possible, but I couldn''t miss this opportunity.

 Chapter 118 Glimpse Of The Future

    ''What is freedom? What is happiness? Am I free? Am I happy?''


    It wasn''t indeed the best time to have such reflection, and yet, when I began to absorb the energy from the monster''s core, I was calm and instead of worries or anxieties, a glimpse of the future appeared inside of my mind.


    ''There''s nothing¡­''


    With the energy that I absorbed from the monsters'' cores, I managed to push my body to its limit for a few moments, materializing the antimatter.


    What I didn''t expect, however, was that it would also affect my mind because seeing the world through the antimatter was a very exceptional experience that couldn''t be described with words, but at the same time, it made me wonder if there was a point in everything.


    Everything was so far away, and I was observing the fragments of countless realities.


    I didn''t understand anything, but I wasn''t panicking, even though what I was seeing was not something that a human should see.


    I felt like I was half conscious and half dreaming. My brain blurred the images that I couldn''t process, and I felt a bit like my head was floating in the clouds.


    "Hahahahahaha!"


    I began tough without any reason.


    "There''s nothing here¡­" I said, even though there were iprehensible things and countless mirror-like fragments that had images inside of them.


    I knew that I had to regain control of my thoughts and my body, but something prevented me from doing so.


    Somehow, I felt extremelyfortable, and I just wanted to close my eyes and sleep.


    In a way, there was nothing anywhere within the realm where I ended up after materializing the Antimatter all around my body. I didn''t feel pain, anguish, fear, or anything else¡­ I was alone, I was peaceful.


    I wondered what freedom was, what happiness was because I felt like what I was feeling at that moment wasn''t bad at all.


    "Hahahaha! This feels good!"


    I wasn''t bound by anyw, and everything I wanted was there.


    I reached my hand towards what I desired the most¡­


    "No!"


    There was a part of me who was still conscious and managed to stop myself from doing something that could make things more difficult.


    For some reason, it was as if I was drunk and my head was thrown into chaos.


    My body grow a lot of arms, heads, and legs and all of my heads began to talk by themselves. I couldn''t control it, or more likely, I was already doing something before I could even think about it¡­ I had mouths that talked at the same time, and somehow my appearance turned into something horrific.


    "She will be mine and I¡­"


    "Lavidas! Llavidas!"


    "You can''t stop me, I will¡­"


    "What dream? This is¡­"


    "I need to get out of here¡­"


    "Woof! Woof!"


    "Yeah, I love you too¡­"


    "Who is that?"


    "Mom?"


    "Stop!"


    "Who are you?"


    "Meieieieieieie!"


    ¡­It didn''t stop, and even though I knew what I needed to do, my emotions didn''t even match my intentions, and my words didn''t even make sense.


    Such a thing would certainly make someone feel extremely frightened, but I couldn''t even feel scared.


    If it continued, I knew, I would turn into something that no one have ever seen. I felt like I was merging with something, multiplying, dividing, and re-emerging again. The process was indescribable.


    I was forced to feelfortable while all of that was happening, and I didn''t even feel the need to do anything about it.


    "Adam!"


    Alone in this realm, I heard a voice.


    "Adam!"


    I wanted to ask who this person was, but somehow I felt like I had already asked the question before so my voice didn''te out.


    "Opopopo! Gangnam style! Sexydy!"


    "When do I get the money?"


    "You are cute, but don''t tease me like that."


    Instead, my mouths continued to mutter iprehensible words. However, I felt fulfilled, knowing that everything that was missing in my life was there, and I was present during these moments at the same time.


    If viewed from that point of view, nothing could be more fulfilling than what was happening to me, but deep inside, I understood that something didn''t feel right.<sub> </sub>


    "Open your eyes!"


    "Ah!!" I gasped and inhaled a mouthful of air.


    I instantly realized that somehow, Inded on the ground, but I didn''t exactly know how it happened.


    In front of me, there was a big dragon who looked like it was made of magma and looking up, I saw that Liu was still defending the ship, but her power seemed to have weakened as the ice dragon had only three heads left.


    "What was that?" I asked myself, and I could still see that I had goosebumps all over my body because I was naked.


    I immediately understood that I was about to make another mistake. I didn''t enough information on my hand, but I still wanted to try something out of curiosity.


    "Roooar!"


    The red dragon appeared to be injured, and looking around me, I realized that I was standing in the middle of a huge crater that razed half of the city.


    "What the hell did I do?" I asked.


    <o>,m Swoosh!</o>


    The ck cape put itself on my back and I floated above the dragon, but it bowed its head low as if it admitted its defeat.


    ''How can a beast like this admit defeat I wondered? It seems like there are still a lot of things that I don''t know about my power,'' I concluded.


    However, it was time to leave and forget about what I was trying to achieve because no matter what I had in mind, it was a failure. Icked information, and I had no control over what was happening and almost destroyed myself.


    ''That voice though¡­''


    As I floated towards the ship, the remaining monsters tried to attack me.


    "Rooaaaar!"


    Unexpectedly, the red dragon incinerated them all.


    Shocked by what was happening, I looked back and saw that the red dragon was following me.


    Seeing this, I raised my hand, but when I did so, it lowered its head and backed away.


    ''What''s the deal with this thing?'' I thought, and knowing that I had already messed around too much, I hurried to the ship. However, the red dragon continued to follow me from afar.


    "Come here!" I shouted, asking the dragon toe closer to me.


    I was about to kill it, but I messed up and scared it to death instead.


    "Kuuuuu." The dragon made a very strange sound as it approached me, and its attitude reminded me of a dog that my mother and I kept at home in my previous life.


    My mother would scold it for messing around the house, but it still follow her around from afar.


    It seemed like this monster epted that I was the strongest around, but somehow, I felt like it was more intelligent than the average monster to realize such a thing and act the way it did.


    ''How should I handle this?'' I pondered a bit. Normally, I wouldn''t hesitate to eliminate anything that could threaten my life and the people I cared about, but somehow, the evolution of monsters intrigued me.


    "Be smaller!" I ordered, and I knew that I was asking too much from a hundred of meters tall dragon.


    However, the dragon''s scale began to turn into some kind of stone, making the dragon look like a statue.


    Swoosh!


    The dragon statue fell to the ground and broke apart.


    "What is this?" I mumbled.


    It was not the time for such a thing, and I knew that Liu and the others were waiting for me, but I wanted to see what was happening to the dragon.


    "Pyuuu!"


    After that, something glowed in the middle of the rumbles and something emerged out of it.


    It had the body of a little girl, but it had small wings, a tail, and two horns.


    "Il ne manquait plus que ?a!" I said, and I seen spoke in a differentnguage because of what I was seeing.


    The dragon indeed got smaller, ''but what will I do with this thing?'' I thought.


    Still, the monster evolved again, and this time, it became more human-like.


    The little dragon girl flew around me as if it was a happy little girl seeing her father. It irritated me.


    "Stop that! Come here!" I said and rushed towards the spaceship.


    All of this time, Cristal wasn''t far from me but I only remembered her presence after we entered the ship.


    "Let''s go, Zax!" I said, but everyone was fixing me odd eyes, mostly Liu.


    It was understandable since there was something weird next to me, but I didn''t want to answer their question for the time being.


    I was totally exhausted, and I felt like my body was on autopilot. In other words, I needed to rest.


    "O-okay¡­" Zax replied, but her tone was a little bit off and then the ship left the using hyper-speed.

 Chapter 119 Notion Of The Present

    :::[Third person POV]:::


    As for why Liu was with Adam inside of a ship that was about to leave a that was about to be consumed, it could be said that she came to the under the jurisdiction of the Kepalta family because of Adam.


    At first, she didn''t think of Adam as someone special or worth her attention, and as a matter of a fact, Julius was just a minor Lord ruling over a territory far from the Empire.


    Considering all of that, there was nothing in Adam''s possession that would interest Liu, a girl born and raised at the heart of this world, the Empire.


    Nevertheless, things took a different turn, and the element that brought these two people from two different worlds together was none other than a little girl.


    However, after seeing what happened, Liu began to understand a lot of things.


    ''I underestimated him! I was wrong about everything¡­'' Liu thought to herself, thinking back about what happened after Adam absorbed the power of the monster''s core.


    In her life, she had witnessed a lot of things that normal people would never see in their lifetime, but what she saw during these minutes wasn''t something humans were supposed to see, at least, that was what she thought.


    Liu was defending the ship against the dragons'' attacks, but she was also keeping an eye on Adam through the ship''s monitors.


    ''What is he doing?'' She thought, looking at Adam who was shouting and talking to himself.


    After that, Cristal appeared and Adam gathered a lot of monster cores around him.


    ''Monster''s cores?! What is he going to do with those?'' Liu wondered.


    However, the dragons that attacked the ship increased in number, and they attacked without giving Liu the time to collect her thoughts.


    Thus, she focused on the dragons as materializing and controlling the seven-headed mystical creature was not easy. Her body was not yet fully adapted to her power, and like Adam''s case, she could feel the burden of her power.


    Suddenly, however, there was a blinding light!


    "What is that?" Next to Liu, Zax reacted, looking in Adam''s direction.


    Taken aback by Zax''s reaction, Liu also looked at Adam, and when she did, her eyes widened.


    "What happened?!" She asked with an unusual high-pitched tone.


    "I don''t know¡­ He was doing something with the cores and suddenly, his body turned into this!" Zax exined.


    Looking at Adam, Liu''s brain couldn''t fully process what she was seeing, nor did Zax''s, and all she could see was the silhouette of Adam''s body standing in the middle of a ck orb that was expanding.


    At the same time, however, this orb, or more precisely, this hole was sucking the space around it, creating a distorted area that the human brain couldn''t picture.


    "Zax! Move the ship!" Liu shouted, seeing that Adam was not his usual self, or more precisely, she didn''t even know what was happening to him.


    "Yeah!" Zax also realized that it was not a good idea to stay close to Adam while he was in that state. She remembered what happened when Adam fought themander.


    "Roooaar!"


    The monsters began to act weirdly after seeing the strange phenomena, however, some took this as a challenge and rushed at Adam.


    Such actions, of course, didn''t bring anything good to these creatures and even death could be considered agreeablepared to what happened a few moments after they rushed at Adam.


    Their body began to break apart like mirrors, and their interiors spilled out while they were still alive.


    "Rooar!"


    The monsters cried in pain but unlike the Antimatter, this ck orb that surrounded Adam was not something that living beings should even look at.


    At that moment, every living being that was present there felt only one emotion, fear!


    Even the gigantic monster opened its eyes and looked in Adam''s direction, creating massive earthquakes.


    Fortunately, Liu and the others were inside the ship, so they were less exposed to the unknown energy released by Adam.


    Still, the three girls had goosebumps all over their bodies as if their brains warned them that the end was near.


    Liu felt that her power was running out, and two of the ice dragon''s heads crumbled and faded away, however, Adam didn''t show any sign of stopping.


    ''What is he doing?! Did he lose control?'' Liu began to feel anxious.


    It was at that time that Adam''s silhouette began to change. It turned into something grotesque.<sub> </sub>


    "Wh-what is that?" Zax asked with teary eyes. "What is happening to him?"


    "Calm down!" nca said, but she was also shocked but what was happening.


    ''This is not like you, what are you doing?'' She thought to herself.


    As far as nca was concerned, she always believed that Adam was always prepared for everything, so after seeing the scene unfolding before her eyes, she understood that the situation had taken a bad turn.


    "He is going down! What should we do?" Zax asked worryingly, but in reality, there was nothing that they could do apart from watching.


    Adam''s silhouette was moving I''m a very morbid way, and looking at this, the girls were more than just worried.


    Liu, of course, thought about leaving right away, but somehow, there was something that prevented her from taking this rational decision.


    Chaos spread around the city and the monsters were in a state of panic, but then, a big red dragon showed up.


    Adam finally reached the ground, and the ck hole surrounding him grew as big as half of the city. Only his grotesque silhouette which was pure white could be seen in the middle of this pitch ck abyss.


    "Roooar!"


    The big red dragon couldn''t even approach Adam, and as soon as it stared at the abyss for a few moments, it began to shiver in fear.


    No one knew what someone would see if they stared at this ck hole, but fortunately, the three women were seeing everything through the ship''s monitor.


    They had a lot of questions and they began to panic, seeing that Adam, the person on which they depended the most, had gone berserk, and his power was more terrifying than he made it seem to be.


    When all things appeared to have taken a dark turn, everything suddenly vanished.


    As if Adam was always there, someone was standing in the middle of a huge crater.


    "What?" nca gasped and rubbed her eyes, thinking that she might still be dreaming.


    Even though the crater was there, everything appeared to bepletely normal.


    Adam was heading towards the ship, and as a matter of a fact, he just entered the ship and said that it was time to go.


    The girls were still trying to process what happened, and the little girl with wings that arrived with Adam wasn''t even their first problem.


    "Cristal, upload the trajectory that we should follow onto the ship''sputer. With your calction, we should be able to find the safest way to leave this area," Adam said, standing next to Zax, looking at the ship''s monitor. "Also, Liu, can you contact the man thatmunicated with us before?"


    Liu nodded at Adam''s words, and everyone knew that the things he said made sense, but their eyes were glued on him, observing every one of his movements.


    After all, not a long ago, this man standing in front of them turned into something grotesque, but somehow, he was acting as if nothing happened.


    The girls were curious. How did he feel? What was that phenomenon? Did he know about it? Why was he still calm?


    Liu, in a lot of ways, was more shocked by what happened, but also by Adam''s attitude.


    ''Who is he?'' Liu wondered, and this was not the first time she asked this question herself, however, when she thought that she understood something about him, soon after, she would be surprised again.


    The little girl was also another mystery, and even though Liu and the others saw the dragon turning into stone, they couldn''t see what had happened after that.


    Nevertheless, everyone stayed quiet, because they knew that by his attitude alone, Adam showed that he didn''t intend to discuss anything rted to what happened.


    "Okay, I am going to put on some clothes," Adam said, and then he went to anotherpartment. The little dragon girl followed him.


    After Adam left, Zax and Liu looked at each other and then nced at nca.


    Seeing the two girls looking at her, nca shook her head.


    No one knew what was going on inside Adam''s head, but the girls thought that it was best to let him bring up the discussion by himself.


    He was not stupid, nca thought, so he must have already noticed the awkward atmosphere.


    However, it was not the time to rx as everything was not over as long as they were still near this.


    Consequently, the girls agreed that it was best to leave Adam alone for the time being. He must have a lot going on inside his mind, they conclude.

 Chapter 120 Notion Of The Present (Part 2)

    Putting on new clothes, Adam was lost in his thoughts. He didn''t want to worry the girls so he adopted his casual attitude as he had always done, but this time, he knew that he couldn''t pretend that nothing happened.


    The mysteries of the universe, the mysteries of time, the mysteries of space, all of that was now something that he had to worry about.


    ''What kind of threat am I going to face from here?'' Adam wondered because his train of thoughts led him toward one conclusion.


    ''I am still ignorant¡­''


    He had taken things seriously, but it didn''t mean that he had all of the answers he needed, and Adam knew this, but experiencing unexinable situations, again and again, made it seem like he was still far from the truth.


    Indeed, ego and arrogance were needed if Adam wanted to achieve his goal, but he couldn''t be blinded by arrogance, and must ept that his abilities were still limited.


    ''If it weren''t for that voice,'' Adam reckoned, thinking about the familiar voice that called out his name. ''Why did it sound like me? Was that me? But how?''


    Another question that needed to be answered popped inside of his mind, but Adam kept his calm, believing that if he continued to search, he would find the answer eventually.


    That was, however, him trying to avoid thinking about a lot of things at the same time, knowing that his imagination didn''t always lead to the correct answer.


    Adam thought that by having enough energy stored of his body, he would be able to control the Antimatter. He didn''t want his ultimate trump card to go out of control every time he used it, so he believed that at least, he should be able to materialize the Antimatter whenever he wanted.


    ''I don''t even feel scared, and my body is¡­okay,'' Adam thought, observing if something about him had changed. However, he didn''t see a third arm or leg, so he was a little bit relieved. ''Well, how should I handle this mess now?''


    At first, Adam wanted to materialize the Antimatter for a few seconds, and kill the red dragon, then he thought about attempting arge-scale attack using the Antimatter.


    If everything went ording to his n, he wouldn''t have to exin anything much to the girls, but now, the girls were looking at him with piercing res as if their eyes turned into question marks.


    If they were in Adam''s ce, a lot of people would begin to wonder about the origin of that phenomenon, but in his case, Adam had only one thing in mind: ''What advantages could that phenomena bring to him?''


    He had indeed reflected on his action, but he was always aware that nothing was yet predetermined, and even though everything could have led to a disaster, he knew that fear would bring nothing than his death.


    This was why, Adam knew that he couldn''t stay close to the people that he cared about unless he was strong enough, because from there, he would still have to take a lot of risks and the result could bring death, not only to him but for a lot of people too.


    At that time, Adam realized that this was not something that heroes do.


    He always thought that what Pride said was ridiculous. Why would he want to make his life goal be a hero, or conquer an unknown girl that would destroy the world?


    After a few moments of reflection, however, he realized that it was almost impossible to achieve this the way he was now.


    ''A challenge, huh¡­'' Adam concluded. It was a challenge that he never thought he would take seriously, at least when he first heard about it. He thought that he was only going to get stronger for his own sake.


    ''Well, I can''t let things get out of hand and continue like this¡­''


    Maybe, Adam was too calm despite what happened, but he knew too well that overthinking about the wrong things would only give birth to unnecessary anxieties.


    It was different from trying to think about how this phenomenon would benefit his growth and progress.


    After all, Adam saw a glimpse of what he was capable of.


    Still, he needed to deal with two immediate issues. First, the winged little girl next to him, and Liu and the others questions.


    Thus, Adam observed the monster who had now taken the form of a human while retaining some monster''s traits.


    The little dragon girl, though, had chubby red cheeks and her hair was also crimson red.


    Her body wasn''t covered with scales but her distinct red tail and red wings made it clear at first sight that she was not human. Moreover, even her unusual pupils and sharp teeth were already hard to associate with a normal little girl''s traits.


    "Hehehe!" The dragon girl seemed to have the intelligence of a baby, and she was curious about everything inside the room, flying around the closed space while letting out happy noises.


    She touched everything shiny with her little hands and felt sensations that she couldn''t feel while she was in her dragon form.


    "Haa!" The dragon girl cried, feeling a chilling sensation through her hand.


    "Put this on for now," Adam said, and he wasn''t pleased by the presence of this dragon girl.<sub> </sub>


    "Hehehehe!" The dragon girl, though, was joyful as Adam helped her to put on her clothes. She looked at Adam as if he was her father, and her attitude waspletely different from when she was in her previous forms. It was as if she had evolved into her next level of existence.


    This was, of course, the only thing that interested Adam, and if it wasn''t for that, he wouldn''t have taken the risk of keeping this little dragon girl around. He already knew that this woulde with a lot of consequences and responsibilities, and Adam had already made up his mind that if this creature didn''t bring him the result he wanted, he would dispose of it.


    At least, that was his initial thought and he wasn''t about to change his mind, but after observing the little dragon girl for a while, his overwhelming killing intent towards the creature dissipated.


    "Hehehe!" The little girl spun her body in the air after Adam put clothes on her.


    "Huh? What''s happening?" Adam mumbled, looking at the dragon girl whonded slowly on the ground and slept on the floor.


    Adam observed the little dragon girl for a while and understood that it had used a lot of power to evolve after he ordered it to do so.


    "Sigh¡­" Adam picked up the dragon girl from the floor and put her on top of something simr to afortable sofa.


    "Maybe I am still too soft," Adam mumbled before leaving the room.


    *****


    It didn''t even take Adam three minutes to put on clothes and return to the ship''s mainpartment.


    However, he wasn''t about to discuss what happened, knowing that they were not out of hot waters yet.


    "Cristal, did you manage to contact Liu''s ship?" Adam asked as soon as he came back.


    "No, there is a strong disturbance," Cristal replied.


    Cristal was navigating the ship, and they were taking a detour to avoid the portal.


    It was highly possible that the portal would affect the ship''s engine even if they used hyper-speed, and such a thing would be dangerous.


    Thus, Adam didn''t want to take any risk that could lead to their death when they were so close to the goal.


    Even so, time was limited and Adam couldn''t waste it by going for a heated discussion.


    "With this speed, how long will it take for us to reach the other side?" Adam asked.


    "30 minutes at best, if we stay careful and don''t leave the atmosphere," Cristal replied.


    The room was filled with a tense atmosphere, and Adam knew that the girls had a lot on their minds.


    "Well, let''s eat and rest for a bit while we can," Adam suggested, asking Cristal to bring the food.


    "Good idea," nca answered, but Adam looked at her with puzzled eyes.


    He realized that he might have been a little bit inconsiderate, knowing that nca had a hole in her stomach.


    "Are you fine?" He asked.


    "Yeah, at least, I can eat," nca said.


    "Okay." Adam didn''t intend to dig more into this topic as he thought that nca wasn''t the kind of woman who wanted him to feel sorry for her.


    Liu and Zax, on the other hand, didn''t say anything, just sat somewherefortable, and began to eat.


    Then, no one said a word, and only the noise that they made while eating echoed inside thepartment.


    "Cough," Liu stopped eating and looked at Adam, feeling like she had to say something. When she did, nca and Zax looked at her. "Are you fine?" Liu asked.


    Adam was a little bit surprised by Liu''s question, and he knew that Liu wasn''t doing that much better herself ispared to him.


    Thus, he understood what Liu was trying to imply.

 Chapter 121 Notion Of Present (Part 3)

    Overconfidence and cowardness were two elements that were closely rted, and a person could be at the same time overconfident and a coward.


    Such a person would always believe that they could do anything, that they were always right, but that was only because they feared failure.


    Indeed, they feared failure so they hid behind their fake beliefs, persuading themselves that their every action was absolute.


    Nevertheless, such a person would meet a bitter end, sooner orter, as no one would be absolute while being ignorant.


    Adam, of course, had gained a lot of confidence in himself, in his ability, but he was still ignorant, and he kept making mistakes.


    Thus, in front of the three girls, he needed to prove what kind of person he was.


    The girls were veryprehensive considering what happened, and Adam knew this, but he couldn''t also tell them everything just because of that.


    Moreover, he didn''t know what happened exactly, so he didn''t know what these girls saw while his consciousness was, once again, brought to a different realm.


    Still, Liu asked him if he was fine, but her tone and expression implied that she expected a detailed answer.


    Of course, Adam didn''t have the obligation to exin anything and could just say, ''I don''t know what happened, but I am fine.'' However, by doing so, he would admit that he couldn''t control his power, or worse, it would destroy the image that Liu and the others had of him.


    Such things, however, were not valid reasons for Adam to say anything unless he cared about it.


    "I am fine," Adam said, and he was calm, showing no excessive expression on his face apart from a faint smile. "The monsters'' cores were indeed useful as predicted, but I didn''t expect that the energy contained inside of the cores would create that phenomenon after it prated his body. Fortunately, I managed to do something about it before things got out of hand. Sorry for worrying you, Liu¡­and also the both of you."


    Adam spoke calmly, and his eyes were locked on Liu. Instead of trying to hide everything, Adam used part of the truth to answer the immediate questions that the girls had in mind.


    That wouldn''t be enough, of course, but Adam wouldn''t meet these three again after they managed to survive, so he lead their focus on the monsters'' cores and what one could do with them, excluding himself from the discussion.


    After hearing her name, Liu didn''t say anything for a while before she said, "I was thinking about leaving you behind¡­" Then, she averted her eyes and continued eating.


    "Well, I would understand if you did that," Adam said, and when he did, nca and Zax shot piercing res at him.


    After all, Zax saw Liu''s expression during the time Adam''s power went out of control, so she knew that there was more to Liu''s attitude than what she showed on the surface.


    Of course, she couldn''t make anyment about it while the two people concerned were trying to put on poker faces.


    She was still wondering how Liu and Adam saw each other, or how they felt about each other, because despite their unfriendly interactions, they had something for each other, at least, that was what she thought.


    Sensing the change in the atmosphere, Zax tried to change the topic. "And who is that little girl? Is that Cristal''s new form?" She asked.


    "Well, things got a little bitplicated," Adam said. "Liu, when you were at the Empire, have you heard about monsters that could take human form?"


    "Human form? Are you saying that the little girl is a monster?" nca asked.


    "Yes, that''s the case, and I am still trying to understand this phenomenon. That little monster girl has the intelligence of a baby and learns things like a baby, so she is not violent like when she was a monster, and theoretically, depending on the environment where she will live in the future, she would probably grow up like a human," Adam exined.


    "Well, I''ve never heard of such a thing," Liu answered Adam''s previous question, but her expression suggested that she was thinking about the situation.


    "Can monsters do that?" Zax asked, knitting her eyebrows. "Ah! Does that mean that the ones who kidnapped Liu were also monsters?"


    Nevertheless, Adam knew that they had more important things to think about, at least for the moment, so they didn''t have time to explore this topic.


    "Well, I don''t think this evolution happens often, but for now, we need to make sure that we keep this between us," Adam said.


    "You don''t want the Empire to find out about this?" Liu asked.


    "I am not sure how the Empire will treat a monster that looks like a little girl, but I don''t want to leave her in other people''s hands unless I know what''s going on," Adam replied.


    "Is there any reason for you to leave her to this¡­ empire, in the first ce?" With a skeptical tone, nca asked.<sub> </sub>


    "You are probably not aware of it, but in this universe, the Empire y a major role, so a discovery like this would interest them," Adam exined. "Anyway, there are a lot of things that had happened, and we have a lot of questions that need to be answered, but I believe that it''s dangerous to talk carelessly about everything that had happened."


    Adam was trying to make the girls understand that what was happening was beyond them, and those who were interested in this topic were certainly not normal people.


    However, Liu took Adam''s words differently, because the first thing that came to her mind when she thought about the Empire was her father.


    "I don''t think we have the choice. At this point, the Empire would monitor everything happening here," Liu said.


    "Well, you are right," Adam said, knowing that there would be a lot of questions rted to how they managed to survive all of this time. "That''s why they shouldn''t learn nca and the dragon girl''s existence to protect them. I am not sure yet, but I believe that some dangerous people are hiding within the empire," he added.


    "How do you know that? You''ve never been in the Empire, right?" Liu asked.


    "It''s just a matter of reflection. I never thought that people who performed inhuman experiences on humans would exist on the under my father''s jurisdiction, either," Adam said.


    "That doesn''t mean they would inevitably end up¡­" Liu was about to say something to dispute Adam''s reasoning, but she suddenly stopped, as if she realized that she was talking without thinking about the weight of her words.


    In the first ce, she knew how rotten the Empire was, but she just wanted to argue with Adam for some reason. "Well, we still need to exin what happened."


    "Well, as long as you agree, I cane up with the most logical exnation that we can give them," Adam said.


    "And what that would be?" Liu asked.


    At some point, it turned into a discussion between Adam and Liu.


    Zax and nca looked at these two without saying anything, then nced at each other as if they weremunicating telepathically.


    nca, of course, saw Adam as a reliable person and didn''t see him as a charming prince or anything. Since she was little, everything rted to romance was never introduced to her.


    Thus, these two didn''t find it weird to see Adam and Liu acting like they didn''t care about each other.


    "You made a breakthrough and awakened your authority," Adam said straightforwardly.


    Hearing Adam''s words, Liu looked at Adam with an emotionless face. Then, the two of them continued to stare at each other for a while.


    Looking at them, nca almostughed out loud, and no one knew what kind of thought made her feel that way.


    Zax didn''t say anything but she looked like she had question marks floating above her head.


    "Are you serious?" Liu asked.


    "Yes, because it would make things difficult if we exined it differently. You made a breakthrough, beat the boss monster, and so we managed to return through the portal, and that''s it," Adam said.


    "You know that it''s not that simple, right? We still need to exin how did we end up in that world, and in the first ce, the fact that we entered a portal is already a big deal¡­" Liu said, but then she realized that she was talking too much, so she stopped.


    "Well, that was just the most important thing that we need to stress on. Moreover, it''s true, so it''s not like we are lying; we are just excluding some information," Adam exined.


    "Like your power, I presume?"


    "Not necessarily. My power consists of manipting this weird metal anyway, so it''s not a big deal," Adam said, materializing a ck cube on his palm.


    Although he wasn''t aware of Liu and her father''s rtionship, her mission, and the importance of Verte to her father, he was being inconsiderate of Liu''s feelings, .


    He just wanted to keep things simple so that he could get rid of the unwanted attention, but by doing so, he would expose Liu to a lot of other problems.


    "¡­" Believing that all of this was her due to her mistake, Liu thought that she would need to take responsibility for all of it in one way or another, so she didn''t say anything and listened to Adam''s n from there. She couldn''t me Adam for not knowing anything, or his attempt to cover nca and what had happened, or so she thought.

 Chapter 122 End Of...

    Adam continued to exin to Liu his n on how to conceal nca and the little monster girl''s existence.


    Liu who was indebted to Adam because he save her life couldn''t reject this n. After all, it was for the sake of everyone, and everything that Adam said made sense.


    Adam exined that it would be better to emphasize that they had a traumatizing experience that they didn''t want to talk about. He also exined that the Empire wouldn''t want the fact that a person could go beyond a portal to be known to the public, thus, saying that it was the monster who was behind all of it, so they would just the victims, would make things easier.


    Finally, Liu''s role was to show demonstrate her new power to a certain extent, and everything would be settled.


    The problem was, of course, Liu and herpanions. Adam thought that Timothy and the others had reported what had happened to some extent, and even though he didn''t know the rtion between Liu and her father, he thought that this n would, to some extent, preserve her honor and pride.


    Adam knew that Liu was prideful and she wouldn''t want to take all of the credit for herself, but if she didn''t, things would be difficult for everyone.


    "Are you alright with that?" Adam asked, looking at Liu in the eyes.


    Liu, of course, had a lot of things to worry about once she return to the Empire, and the biggest problem was her father but despite that, she agreed to go along with Adam''s n.


    "I will try¡­" Liu said, "I am not sure if would believe it though¡­"


    Her father always considered her a failure, so it wouldn''t surprise her if he didn''t believe any words about her awakening.


    "Well, I will be attending the Holy Academy so some people would keep an eye on me. Thus, as long as we are ying the victims who are confused and ignorant of everything, things should be settled down after a while," Adam exined.


    ''A fifteen years old boy who disappeared with two women and came back from another world traumatized.'' That was what they need the Empire to need to think about.


    And even though Timothy and the others might have said something, he would just act like an overconfident and ignorant boy who took an opportunity to demonstrate his ability, after what happened during hising of age ceremony. However, the situation was beyond this boy''s ability, but even so, he managed to give Liu the opportunity to beat the monster.


    With this, everything would make sense, or so Adam thought. Of course, he would need to continue to act like a prideful boy who didn''t want to admit his mistake and looked very pitiful.


    As long as he did that, he would be able to hide his true objective, but some people would find him pathetic. However, that was something he needed, a mask that he needed to wear while he put his ns into motion.


    ''I will use this opportunity to build a fake image of myself. That way, things would be easier,'' Adam thought.


    He realized that overconfidence wasn''t a good thing, and if the Empire learned about his true nature, he would be in a very difficult position and it will be hard for him to progress toward the truth.


    Nheless, it was not like something would happen if he just continued to y the quiet and normal kid.


    At least with this fake character, people would still keep an eye on him while expecting nothing, thus, they would be focused on his pathetic character and wouldn''t suspect anything, and even if they do, they would only see him working hard, making him look more pathetic.


    After all, Adam knew that the so-called tinum generation would be a bunch of haughty people.


    *****


    After that, the rest of their journey went rather smoothly despite the presence of the gigantic octopus-like monster. There were also a lot of flying monsters on the way, but the ship was faster than most of them.


    Even so, the was on the verge of breaking apart, and it was just a matter of time before it disappeared.


    ''This is just the beginning¡­ I can already see where all of this is going,'' Adam thought to himself, knowing that this gigantic monster was certainly not the only one of its kind.


    When they reached the other end of the, they could contact Haozu again. Of course, without Cristal''s superior skills,municating with Liu''s ship wasn''t even possible, and Adam knew this, but still, he didn''t believe that it was necessary to point that out.


    "Where are you know?!" Haozu asked in a panicking voice, as soon as Cristal managed to establish themunication.


    "We will send you our location," Liu said, "we manages to find a ship, but we still need to be escorted. Some of us are quite traumatized by what happened thesest few days.


    Liu had already begun to act as Adam instructed. She talked like she was the one who was handling everything.


    Of course, Haozu found that more believable than Adam''s previous attitude.<sub> </sub>


    "You found a ship? Well, as expected of you, Liu. Okay, we received your location," Haozu said, and he sounded impressed. "We will meet around here, and as soon as we leave this area, the imperial armada would escort us to the Empire."


    "About that," Liu said, "the young Kepalta wants to meet with his parents, so is there a way to contact them?"


    "Don''t worry, they are already waiting for him," Haozu answered. "Your father too is waiting for you."


    "I see," Liu said, then Haozu just nodded and terminated the transmission.


    During all of that time, Adam and the others didn''t say any words and just listened to Liu and Haozu''s conversation.


    Adam had already exined to nca what she had to do and hide her somewhere inside the ship along with the little dragon girl.


    He knew what exactly he had to do when he arrived at the Empire to create the perfect image that would be the first phase of his n.


    This incident would certainly create some kind of buzz, but Adam knew exactly how to take advantage of that.


    ****


    After a few hours, Adam and the others finally managed to meet with Haozu.


    There was, of course, no time for small talks so they left the area as soon as Haozu made sure that Liu was safe.


    After all, they had only a short amount of time to leave the area, because they were trying to bypass the monsters who were present all around the area.


    These monsters were different from the ones who were on the, and like the gigantic octopus, they could move freely in space.


    Haozu exined this and showed them the route that they needed to follow to avoid these monsters.


    He said that it was highly probable that those monsters could intercept the ships even if they used hyper-speed, thus avoiding them was the best idea.


    Without saying anything, Adam agreed with Haozu, knowing that these monsters evolved and adapted to the situation, making them extremely dangerous for every living being in this universe.


    ''How did that portal appear here in the first ce?'' He asked himself.


    At that time, he remembered something that Rudeus said about the number of beings who wanted the tree fragments.


    ''If monsters could evolve and develop a certain level of intelligence, would it be possible for them to look for the tree fragments too?'' He wondered, and once again, normal people didn''t normally think about such a thing if they were in his situation.


    Thesest few days changed Adampletely. He lost a part of his past self, but he gained something new.


    At first nce, it appeared to be something good, but since he could only see things from his perspective, there were things that he missed.


    Adam was no God, and he was not omniscient nor omnipotent, so there was no way for him to do everything, nor know the perfect answers to every question.


    In the end, he only managed to survive and grow to that point because of luck, or so he believed. Of course, he was grateful for that, but such a thing wouldn''t be enough from there.


    ''I need more knowledge and more power,'' Adam reckoned, ''there is no turning back now.''


    While he was thinking about that, he nced at Liu, and he believed that his feelings for Liu, whatever their true nature was, wouldn''t bring anything good to her.


    He hoped that someday he would be able to just forget everything and talk to her honestly without thinking about monsters, superpowers, or the destruction of the world.


    ''Great poweres with great sacrifice huh¡­ Well, this isn''t even a sacrifice, is it?'' Adam reflected on the true nature of his feelings. I was just fantasizing about a wonderful life with her¡­''

 Chapter 123 ...The Beginning; The Beginning Of The End

    The imperial Armada consisted of thousands of space warships and they were tasked with monitoring the evolution of the situation within the now restricted area.


    "Commander, the one from the Fenrirus n reported that they managed to find the daughter of the n''s head and the son of Kepalta," an imperial officer reported, standing dignifiedly in front of a bulky man with a stern face.


    The man wore a particr outfit for people who held a certain position in the Imperial Army, and he was themander of this Armada.


    Standing on a spot on the highest floor of an enormous battleship, themander stared at the vast space in front of him.


    "It doesn''t change the fact that they vited the rules," themander said in a calm but imposing tone. This xen-haired man didn''t think that Adam and the others'' survival was a good or bad thing, and he was just following the orders from his superiors. "Arrest him and seize their ship, and put the so-called missing people into confinement."


    "Roger."


    After that, themander continued to stare nkly at the scenery in front of him.


    Thesest three years, this man and the millions of soldiers under him didn''t take a single break and monitored the area where the gigantic portal appeared.


    Among them, thousands of experts were trying to learn about the nature of this phenomenon and also its causes.


    The Empire didn''t expect things to escte to this level so soon, so they needed to hasten their preparation for the uing great war.


    "You look boring to talk with as always," A woman wearing ab coat approached themander from behind but he didn''t even turn back. "So what are you going to do with the kids? So you know, the boy will be under my watch, well the little princess too, because there are a lot of tests that I have to perform on them," the woman continued.


    "We follow the orders," themander said. "If I am told to leave them to you, I will leave them to you. If I am told to dispose of them, then I will do so."


    "Aren''t you dutiful? Well, I am kind of fond of that boy, so I will use my position to protect him," the woman said as if she was challenging themander.


    Both of them were once ssmates during their time at the only Academy, and even after they became important people in the Empire, they still talked to each other casually.


    "Caroline, don''t forget that we almost died because of that selfishness of yours," a man wearing a pair of sses and a whiteb coat approached Caroline and themander.


    "Well, we got interesting data, so it wasn''t that bad. You even looked happy about it, didn''t you, Joshua?" Caroline rebuked.


    "Well, he was indeed an interesting kid, and we got to do some experiment that we couldn''t do at the Empire, but to spend our entire years of vacation there. We will not have vacation again in the next 20 years or so you know," Joshua exined.


    "Can you two talk elsewhere, you are being a bother," themander said.


    "By the way Brook, if you received the order to not dispose of them, can you let us meet them first?" Caroline asked. "You wouldn''t want to deal with a bunch of traumatized kids, right?"


    "Don''t address me like that," themander said. "And I will have to wait for further instructions for that."


    "Tsk, you are so stiff¡­ You will not find a wife if you continue like this," said the woman who was still single in her thirties.


    "¡­" Themander didn''t reply to Caroline and just continued to stand straight in a dignified posture.


    "You are the one to talk," Joshua mumbled.


    These two scientists went to a ce far from the Empire to rx, or so Caroline put it, and of course, they hide their true identity, but in the end, they ended up performing experiments again.


    Caroline just thought that it would be interesting to meet Adam, and she didn''t expect him to be smarter than she thought he would be. It was fun to y around with him, so she even forgot about the Empire for a while.


    Moreover, Caroline and Joshua made some interesting discoveries about mana stones, mostly because Adam was there, so they continued to work on developing new things, unable to restrain their curiosity.


    Their trip to the under the jurisdiction of Kepalta should have been a kind of vacation, but these two people were scientists to their cores.<sub> </sub>


    *****


    Soon, Brook was ordered to leave Adam and the others in the hand of the expert, in other words, Caroline and Joshua.


    These two were the head of the Research Department of the Empire, and with the appearance of a gigantic portal, they were tasked with trying to gather more information about it.


    Adam, of course, didn''t know about their identity, and hepletely forgot about these two people.


    His mind was focused on his parents and how their well-being, but despite that, Caroline and Joshua were found of him.


    At first, they thought that he would be a spoiled brat who was extremely self-centered, but when they met him, they were astonished by his intelligence, and they even had the impression that he was looking down on them.


    Instead of finding that bothersome, these two mad scientists found it extremely interesting and tried to find out more about Adam''s situation, but in the end, they learned a lot of things from him, just by observing what he was doing.


    ? At that moment, Caroline realized that Adam was an unparalleled genius, but of course, she didn''t know that his situation was much moreplicated than that.


    When the gigantic monster appeared, the Empire immediately sent reinforcement, and it was because Caroline and Joshua were extremely important people.


    Nevertheless, they didn''t discover anything about Adam''s true ability or his true nature.


    "What do you think?" Joshua asked Caroline as soon they arrived in a more private ce.


    "I am not sure, but from what we were told, they suddenly disappeared and now they reappeared out of the blue? What can I say, there must be an exnation for this phenomenon, isn''t there. Both of us know that there''s an exnation behind everything else that had happened recently," Caroline said.


    "I wouldn''t be surprised if Adam did something," Joshua said thinking back about Adam and his interesting character.


    "Even if he did, he would never reveal such a thing." Carole talked in a very amused tone, believing that Adam was always hiding his true capabilities.


    Both Caroline and Joshua agreed on one thing: ''Adam was a genius''. However, they couldn''t assess his true capabilities no matter what they tried to test him.


    At the end of the day, Adam appeared to be a normal young Lord who was a bit brighter than the average person. Curiously, though, they continued to learn a lot of things just by observing him, and in the end, they felt like it was better to leave Adam alone.


    "Even now, I am still wondering if he was smart enough to fool us and hide his ability at that age, or if we were expecting too much from him," Joshua wondered out loud.


    One year had passed since they left the under the jurisdiction of the Kepalta family, but they didn''t forget Adam, even though what happened to him didn''t concern them at all.


    "Well, we still have to follow the orders from above and perform the test that needs to be done," Caroline said.


    "I am sure that those people expect to learn something from the kids, and if they knew that they know something, they would do everything to extort this information from them," Joshua said in a concerned tone.


    Depending on the test that would be performed on Adam and the others, there was a possibility that they would end up as test subjects, both Caroline and Joshua knew that.


    After all, such information didn''t only include what Adam and the others saw or experienced, but also the change in their bodies.


    If something happened to change in them, giving them the ability to return from beyond the portals, the Empire would want to be the first to know about this.


    Such information would be crucial for the war that had yet to begin, so sacrificing two or three kids was a cheap price if they won this war.


    "Well, that''s why we are here. Adam, at least, deserves better after what happened. With his talent, he would be a valuable asset for the Empire in the future," Caroline said. "This will be our argument no matter what we find out."


    "Well, it''s rare to see you talk about someone that way," Joshua remarked. "But you are right, he deserved better. However, this will also show us what kind of person he really is."

 Chapter 124 New Year (Part 1)

    Adam and the others were met by a group of soldiers as soon as their ship docked on a tform inside the mothership. The soldiers wore full-body suits with helmets as if they were going to enter a radioactive area.


    "Sorry about this, Miss Liu, but this is something that we must abide by," Haozu said, and even though he was Liu''s uncle, he used honorifics when he was talking with her in front of other people.


    Liu nodded at Hoazu''s words and followed the instructions given by the imperial soldiers.


    After that, Haozu and his crew were also locked somewhere but Adam and the others weren''t made aware of this.


    "Only the three of you?" One of the soldiers asked, observing the group consisting of Adam, Zax, and Liu.


    Of course, they had already searched the whole ship but they didn''t find anything out of the ordinary.


    "Are you blind?" Adam muttered with an unfazed face. He looked like he was displeased by everything that happened.


    The soldier frowned after hearing Adam''s words, but before he could say anything, Liu interrupted him. "Yes, there''s only two of us. Don''t mind him. We had it rough thesest few days, and his pride seems a little bit hurt. You can ask me if you have other questions."


    "U-understood." The soldier fell under Liu''s charm, and unlike before, her character had also changed and she was using one of her hidden potentials without even being aware of it.


    "Hmph!" Hearing Liu''s words, Adam sneered, and just closed his eyes, crossed his arms, and stood with his back against the wall.


    The soldiers who witnessed his attitude all frowned, and they thought that Liu must have it rough dealing with a brat like him.


    Despite that, Adam was very handsome, but the cheeky character that he showed displeased the soldiers.


    ''Who does he think he is?'' They thought.


    "Please follow me," the soldier said, then Adam, Liu, and Zax followed the two soldiers, while two other soldiers walked behind them.


    It was Caroline who requested this. She convinced themander that treating Adam and the others like they were some kind of suspect wouldn''t do anything good.


    "As long as you ask them the right questions, at the right moment, you will get your answers," She said; "in other words, it''s better if they understand that they should cooperate for their safety and their families. Violence is not always the answer, dear Brook."


    Brook received orders stating that the matter about Adam and the others would be left in Caroline and Joshua''s hands. Her request was approved because she was acquainted with Adam, she was also good with her words and her exnation was logical.


    "Orders are orders. Do what you need to do," Brook said, not bothered by what Caroline said in the slightest.


    Thus, Adam and the others were brought inside apartment that looked like a casual room with high-tech devices and pieces of furniture inside.


    However, the room was sealed and a decontamination process would be every time someone entered this area.


    This room was supposed to be a resting ce for staff, and realboratories where various tests and experimentations on monsters were conducted existed inside the mothership, which was bigger than the Earth''s moon, but fortunately, Adam and the others weren''t brought to such ces.


    Instead, there was even a sofa-like, entuated with a modern touch, inside of the room where they were told to wait.


    Liu and Zax sat on this sofa while Adam was standing in front of them, his back against the wall, his arms crossed, and his eyes closed.


    After a few minutes, someone opened the door, and a female voice greeted the group.


    "How are you doing?!" It was Caroline''s voice, and Adam somehow recognized her voice.


    Another person entered the room following Caroline, and even though they were wearing suits like the soldiers'', their face was also familiar to Adam.


    "Hey there. You look better than I expected, young Lord," Joshua said.


    "You two, why are you here?" Adam asked. "Well, this makes things better. Let''s do this quickly. I need to see my parents."


    "Haha, well that depends on your cooperation," Joshua replied in a friendly tone.


    "Do you know them?" Liu asked Adam.


    "Kind of," Adam answered briefly.


    Both Liu and Adam didn''t show any excessive expression on their face since they knew that they were being recorded.


    "My name is Joshua, and she is Caroline. You are Liu and she is Zax, right?" Joshua continued, and this time he looked at the two girls.


    "Nice to meet you. So, what exactly do we need to do from here apart from telling you what happened?" Liu asked.


    "It seems like you understand the situation. I appreciate that," Joshua said.


    While Joshua conversed with Adam and the others, Caroline installed a portable device equipped with various monitors and testing equipment.<sub> </sub>


    "Okay, you can begin to tell us whates to your mind, and while you do, we will perform some tests to determine if you are safe to meet your family," Caroline exined.


    Then, she used one of the gadgets nearby to pour a hot beverage inside of three cups. She handed the cups to Adam and the others, and Adam didn''t want to drink at first, but since it was Caroline, he reluctantly took the cup.


    "So, what happened?" Caroline asked.


    "From what I can render," Liu said, "there were unknown people who appeared from inside a portal. They had powerful gifts, and I wasn''t strong enough to prevent them from bringing me with them."


    "So they brought you with them beyond the portal?" Joshua asked while Caroline asked Zax to show her arm.


    "Yes, they did."


    "Do you remember, who was there with you at that moment?" Joshua asked.


    "Adam saw everything, but I was also holding a baby in my hand," Liu said.


    "A baby? Whose baby?"


    "I wasn''t aware of her true identity, but I was acting ording to my father''s orders, then I somehow met a certain woman and a baby, but soon the mother passed away, and I couldn''t leave the baby alone," Liu answered.


    "I see, and what did the people that appeared from beyond the portals look like?"


    "I am not sure¡­ They wore ck armor with helmets. I never saw something like that before," Liu continued, and she looked like she was trying to remember the details.


    "Mm, and you, do you remember something about those people," Joshua said, turning his head toward Adam.


    "¡­Well, they looked strong and pretty clever while executing their moves," Adam answered nonchntly.


    "So you witnessed everything, but you could do anything about it too?" Joshua asked.


    "What are trying to say? These people were probably stronger than the Guardians," Adam said, looking at Joshua with his crimson red eyes.


    "If you say so, then it must be true, but that would make it difficult for you toe back alive, wouldn''t it?" Joshua asked. "And how did you end up with Miss Liu beyond the portal along with that little girl? I believe she is one of yourpanions, right, miss Liu?"


    Joshua continued to ask questions while Caroline performed various tests on Zax.


    "Well, he rushed to save me, and Zax came with him," Liu answered.


    "Mmm, from what your father said, you were trying to find a certain master and Miss Liu came with you, right?"


    "Yeah¡­ What about it?"


    "Is there a reason why you had to go there together?" Julius asked in a curious tone.


    "Not really. I just challenged her in a duel," Adam answered.


    "I see, that''s quite typical of you, young Lord," Joshua said, andughed a bit. "Okay, so the two of you went beyond the portals to save Miss Liu who was abducted by mysterious individuals."


    "Yes¡­ Why do you sound like you don''t believe it?" Adam said.


    "Well, theoretically, it would be impossible for someone with a gift to cross these portals and live. Moreover, Miss Liu had otherpanions, right? Why didn''t theye with you?" Joshua continued.


    "I asked them to wait. I also theorized that the primordial particles inside of their body would go berserk if they followed me," Adam exined, "And before you ask, there are only neutral particles inside of my body, and this is my gift. I don''t know the reason for it, but I can materialize this ck metal."


    After that, Adam materialized a ck cube in his hand, and he had a very arrogant attitude.


    "That''s quite interesting. Well, I am not surprised that you reached this conclusion, but why did you bring the little girl with you? She is giftless, right?" Joshua asked.


    Joshua was trying to find out the consistency in the story and find out as many details as possible.


    "She is good at building weapons," Adam answered.


    "Okay, you are good. It''s your turn missy," Caroline said. She collected the data she needed on Zax''s condition, and now it was Liu''s turn.


    Liu nodded at Caroline''s words and didn''t say anything.


    "Okay, so what happened after you crossed the portals?" Joshua proceeded to ask another question.

 Chapter 125 New Year (Part 2)

    "¡­ And I was brought inside a castle," Liu said, "then I met a terrifying being¡­ He asked me to hand the baby over to him," Liu said after describing to Joshua what kind of ce the world beyond the portal was. "Honestly, I wasn''t sure about what to do. I couldn''t run, and I didn''t stand a chance if I fought this¡­ I don''t even know if it was a person."


    Liu even looked a little bit frightened when she talked about the number of high-level monsters that she saw.


    Joshua nodded sympathetically after hearing Liu''s story. "I can''t even imagine what you must have felt at that moment. But I am curious, why did this being want the baby, and where is the baby now?"


    "Well¡­ In the end, I wasn''t strong enough to protect her¡­ l¡­" Liu looked like she had a hard time discussing this particr topic so before she could finish the rest of the story, Adam interrupted her.


    "The baby is dead! We couldn''t do anything about it even if we wanted to. Verte sacrificed and saved our lives," Adam said, and he still had arrogant behavior, but his voice was softer when he talked about Verte.


    "She sacrificed her life to save you? In what way?" Joshua continued, looking in Adam''s direction.


    Adam had already talked about how he managed to find Liu. He described how Zax used themunication device in Liu''s possession to localize her.


    After that, Adam exined, they used battle suits built by Zax to hurry toward Liu''s location, but they were met with a lot of difficulties. The monster disyed an extremely violent and vicious attitude that he had never seen before, he added.


    Despite that, their strategy was to run and save Liu as fast as possible while avoiding the monsters, Adam emphasized, so Zax''s battle suits managed to bring them where they wanted to go against all odds.


    Joshua was a little bit surprised by how Adam described Zax as a genius because he had never seen Adam talking about someone like that. Thus, Joshua nced at the petite pink-haired woman next to Liu and wondered if Adam''s im was true.


    "But we were toote," Adam continued. "Liu was defeated, and of course, despite my skills, I couldn''t handle thest boss alone, at least at that time¡­ But here''s the thing. I was wondering why the primordial particles inside Liu''s body, but then I saw something unbelievable. I don''t know exactly what was happening at that moment, but the baby used her power to save Liu and awakened her authority."


    Adam still talked arrogantly but their frustration was apparent on his face as he talked.


    "Well, you can probably guess what happened next¡­ With her power, Liu managed to restrain thest boss, and we managed to get out of there, but when we came back, everything was already gone¡­ It''s your turn to answer our questions now. What happened?" Adam looked at Joshua with a serious look on his face.


    "Mmmm¡­ Honestly, your story is hard to believe. So, both of you don''t know about the identity of this baby, but in the end, your life was miraculously saved by her. Then, this mighty being who controls millions of monsters was restrained by miss Liu who had awakened her authority, and you could leave through another portal," Joshua said, talking in with a doubtful tone.


    "What do you want to say?" Adam halted at Joshua. "Thinking about it logically, the three of us would never survive, in the first ce, considering all of that. Whether you believe it or not, we are here and alive. If you think we became some kind of monster, then you are not making things easier for us. You don''t even want to know what we had to eat before we found a way to contact other people."


    "No, don''t misunderstand me¡­ Logically speaking, as you said, the chance for you to survive under such a circumstance is almost zero. Thus, I found your story very interesting, to say the least. Well, the fact that you are here proves that you survived, and from what I can see here, all of you seem to bepletely normal," Joshua said after Caroline finished her tests.


    Everything that Adam said about the ship and the battle suit was all true, and the imperial soldiers had already investigated the ship thoroughly to make sure of that.


    Moreover, Adam''seback was persuasive, and even his attitude made him look like he was just putting up an act. ''As expected of him. I can''t even tell if he was telling the whole truth or if he was lying with a straight face. Well, there are a lot of proofs, and Caroline''s date also didn''t show anything strange. With this, the people above will let them off for now¡­''


    However, Joshua believed that there was more to it, and even though it wasn''t his goal to force Adam to spill it out, he had to pretend that he was doing so.


    "Hahaha! What''s up with that look on your face, Adam? You will be fine. No one is going to turn you into experimentation subjects," Caroline said in a cheerful voice.


    <o>,m Adam didn''t say anything and just sneered arrogantly as if saying that he wasn''t afraid of such a thing.</o>


    "Okay, you guys need to wait here for a little bit. Just rest, and eat food when you are hungry. We need to send these data to the Empire and do further analysis, and as soon as it''s done, you will be able to go home," Caroline kept on talking.


    "Okay, then you," Liu said, keeping her usualposure.


    After that, Caroline and Joshua left the room, leaving Adam and the others alone inside of this confined space again.


    During this whole discussion, Zax didn''t say anything much, and sometimes she just nodded and shook her head when Caroline asked her various questions.<sub> </sub>


    The three of them, Adam, Liu, and Zax, knew that they were being observed and they needed to act ording to Adam''s instructions.


    *****


    Somewhere within the Empire''s capital, a few individuals were gathered inside of a room equipped with arge projector.


    Adam and the others'' images were shown on this screen, but some of the people that were present didn''t even appear to be interested.


    "What do you think? What are we going to do about these kids?" A woman asked.


    Despite her question, the other 6 people were doing something else and didn''t look like they were going to give her an answer.


    "Why are we even here in the first ce?" Another woman talked, but her voice sounded more childish than the previous woman''s.


    The woman who asked the first question sighed, looking at everyone else.


    "Okay, I will let you deal with the Fenrirus and the Raizel then¡­" She said.


    "Raizel? Come to think of it, was it the territory of the banished son of the Raizels that got invaded by the monsters? So, is this brat his kid?" This time, it was a man who talked, and even though his voice was deep, it had a youthful undertone.


    "Can you take this a little bit seriously? His Majesty asked us to handle this issue, and he except us to give him answers as fast as possible," the mature woman said in a very stern voice.


    "What do you want us to do about it? We are busy. Monsters ravaged a lot ofs for thousands of years now. The Emperor just wants to build up an image or something like that with this Armageddon thingy," the woman with a young girl''s voice talked.


    The other three didn''t say anything and their eyes were focused on the rectangr thing, which looked like tablets, in their hands.


    A lot of things were happening in the Empire because the Emperor wanted to prepare for the uing great battle against the monster.


    "Just let them go. I don''t want things to get moreplicated than they already are. These two scientists know what they are doing, and the kids are doing fine, so I don''t see why we shouldn''t just let them return to their families. Anyway, we can always continue observing them," the man with a deep voice said.


    "I agree."


    "Me too."


    "Same."


    The three other people who didn''t participate in the conversation finally voiced their opinions.


    From what they learned from Adam''s story, there was an individual that controlled monsters, but such a fact didn''t surprise them.


    One of them though was a little bit curious about Adam and his ability, but with the emergence of the tinum Generation, it was pale inparison.


    "Sigh! Well, this meeting ends here then."


    After the mature woman said these words, the other five individuals left the room immediately without saying anything to each other.


    "To think that those people are the guardians of the Empire¡­" The woman mumbled after everyone else left.

 Chapter 126 New Year (Part 3)

    After Caroline and Joshua left, the room became silent, and Adam, Liu, and Zax didn''t say anything to each other.


    Of course, they were being recorded, and from what those who observed could see, there was this kind of tension between Liu and Adam.


    However, Zax and Liu began to talk to each other after two hours, but Adam didn''t join the conversation, and his eyes were still closed.


    Adam acted arrogantly, but Liu wasn''t concerned about his attitude at all and ignored him.


    Some interpreted Adam''s attitude as something that a person who had a cheap sense of pride would adopt.


    They took Liu''s side even though there was nothing, in particr, happening between Adam and her. ''She is a woman'', those people thought, ''but she is stronger than him, that''s why this cheeky brat act like this.


    Nheless, there was no way for them to know what exactly Adam and Liu thought of each other, so they were just theorizing and gossiping as if they had nothing else better to do.


    After that, Adam and the girls had to wait almost half a day before someone finally opened the door again.


    "Sorry for the wait. Please follow me, it''s time for you to go back to your family," Joshua said.


    "Tsk¡­ What did take you so long?" Adamined arrogantly and walked toward the door.


    Liu and Zax also stood and followed Adam without saying anything.


    "These two gentlemen will apany you during your trip to the Empire, and we have already made sure that your ship, the one that rides here, will be able to bring you to your destination without any issue," Joshua continued.


    From what Joshua said, the empire''s leaders didn''t think that Adam and the others'' stories would create a problem even if we were to be released to the public.


    It was even something that everyone in the Empire, those who believed that were at the top of this world, found rather exciting. The Emperor had already dered that the monsters would make a move, and this incident appeared to have proven the authenticity of his im, giving another reason for the tinum generation to show their potential.


    "Also, your family will update you about everything that you have missed, and we have already sent them details about your arrival. Thus, you should take a good rest from here," Joshua added.


    "Thank you," Liu said, then they followed the two imperial soldiers tasked to escort them back home.


    Haozu and his crew were also released and they set off along with Liu and the others.


    Before Adam left, Joshua handed him something. "Take this, you will need it soon."


    Adam didn''t say anything and just tool the item, but after seeing him doing so, a faint smile appeared on Joshua''s face.


    The journey to the Empire would take a few days even if the ships across the vast gxy used hyper-speed.


    Adam knew that a new journey was about to begin from here, but he wasn''t sure where it would lead him.


    *****


    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    I didn''t expect things to go that smoothly, and I felt like there were a lot of variables that I didn''t take into ount but ended up making things easier.


    For example, I never expected to see Joshua and Caroline there. However, I was sure that they did something to make the process simpler than how it was normally done.


    Apart from that, Liu''s acting was so good that sometimes I get the feeling that she wasn''t acting at all.


    Nevertheless, seeing her talk like that made me doubt that she was the girl that I met a few weeks ago.


    Maybe, by acting like that, she discovered that she was actually morepetent than she thought she was.


    Well, I was d if it helped for the better¡­ But we were about to return to Empire, and I wouldn''t see her for a while, so I was worried about how she would change during that time.


    ''I am sure she will be fine,'' I thought to myself. Despite everything that had happened, I knew that her true nature didn''t change.


    In addition to that, I was also sure that Zax would improve her skill from there. I knew that she was frustrated when she was not able to fight alongside Liu, but she should not think about what she couldn''t do.


    I also wouldn''t meet her again for a while, so I was looking forward to seeing how much she would improve when we meet again.<sub> </sub>


    After all, I had to attend the Holy Academy, and I wouldn''t be even surprised if it would be more of a bad experience than being chased by dragons.


    Moreover, I had to maintain this character that I just created. People would think that I was smart a little bit but had a bad attitude and was just a little bit stronger than the average. In other words, someone funny to look at and nothing more.


    I was not sure if I would be able to y this character the way I imagined it though, but being at the center of the attention for the wrong reasons would be the best way to hide my real goals.


    ''There''s a lot of things to do, to think about¡­ I need to begin my preparations as soon as I can¡­'' I thought to myself because at that moment, I was still worried about my parents.


    I just wanted to rx for a bit and close my eyes, but when I did, my mind would be always filled with various thoughts.


    ''Well, this is what it means to be intelligent, isn''t it?'' So I told myself, trying to not think about it in a bad way. After all, my imagination was one of my most powerful weapons.


    My knowledge, my strength, and everything else about we''re still limited, so I could never let my guard down because I couldn''t even yet predict the oues of my decision.


    ''It''s not enough¡­ I need to reach the next level¡­''


    *****


    :::[Third Person POV]:::


    While Adam was on his way to where his parents were, things were already moving in a particr direction in the Empire.


    "It has begun. Finally, we can proceed to the next step, Mother." A man wearing a tinum set of armors covered with a white robe on his body spoke. He had silver hair and a handsome face as if he was the decedent of an angel.  His voice was calm and extremely pleasant to hear, almost as if every time he muttered a word, his pitch, tone, and intonation would be perfect.


    On his hips, a sword which also had a tinum color was attached, and one of his hands held the handle of this sword so that it wouldn''t hinder him while he was kneeling.


    He kneeled on one of his knees and looked at a woman who was also kneeling in front of a majestic throne.


    "Indeed, the time hase, and the harvest is upon us," the woman who was known as the Holy mother said.


    "What should we do about the chosen ones? Shall I proceed to the next step with them too," the man asked.


    "Those children are not yet ready, our Lord knows. We shall wait for the right time, but some things can only be done during thesest moments of peace," the Holy mother said as if she was talking prophetically.


    "Are you referring to the young people who awakened extraordinary gifts?" The man asked.


    "That is correct. I will leave this task to you, Saint Fineas," the Holy mother said.


    "Your words are my will," Fleas said, then he stood dignifiedly and left the room.


    After Fineas left, the Holy mother continued to kneel in front of the majestic throne as if she was prying, waiting for someone to answer her.


    "Mother, I heard you wanted to see me," a young girl spoke. Her hair was as white as snow, and her eyes, lips that were as red as blood adorned. Her name was Neige.


    "Yes, my child. I have something to discuss with you," the Holy mother said.


    Neige was the apprentice of the Holy Mother, but she was also the Emperor''s daughter, thus, she had a lot of duty despite her young age.


    However, whenever the Holy Mother summoned her, she would alwayse to this room immediately.


    Neige kneeled beside the Holy Mother despite the expensive red dress that she was wearing. Normally, she should be wearing a nun''s outfit, but because of her standing, an exception was made.


    "In a week, you will be attending the Holy Academy. Do you remember everything that I instructed you about?" The Holy mother asked.


    "Yes, Mother," Neige answered.


    "Wonderful. I am sure you would not have any difficulty. Our Lord doesn''t tolerate any failure, so everything should be done perfectly," the Holy mother continued.


    ording to the teaching of the Holy Mother, Neige should be always at the top in everything she was doing. Of course, it wasn''t like she asked to do something that she didn''t want to do, but on the other hand, she must be perfect in her duties and everything she liked to do because only such a person could be a Saint.

 Chapter 127 Reunion (Part 1)

    The ship with which Adam and the others traveled reached its first destination. It was a that was part of the Raizel family''s area of influence but was also under the jurisdiction of one of Julius''s friends.


    The itself was already considered part of the main Empire''s territory because the influence of the high-level Lords expanded to such an extent.


    Adam was about to get off of the ship and Liu, Zax, and the two imperial soldiers sent him off.


    After this, Liu would still have to travel for a few hours to reach the main which was considered the capital of the Empire.


    "Take care of you, Adam. I hope we can meet again soon," Zax said, and she was genuinely sad about their parting even though it was just temporary. She went through a lot of roller coaster of emotions during thesest few days with Adam, so she developed a certain attachment to him.


    Adam patted Zax''s head and didn''t say anything much, and his face didn''t show any particr emotion. "See you soon," He said.


    After that, Adam looked at Liu, but the woman in front of him was as unreadable as always. She didn''t appear particrly sad or showed any hint of desire for Adam to stay a bit longer.


    In his mind, Adam had already known that this woman would never reveal her true feeling to him that openly, but somewhere deep inside of his heart, he had hoped for something different.


    Nheless, in the end, Adam also couldn''t bring himself to tell Liu his true feelings whatever the nature of these feelings was.


    "Convey my regard to your parent," Liu said.


    Adam didn''t want Liu and Zax to meet his parents for the time being because he had a lot of things that he needed to discuss with them. He didn''t want his parents to put on fake faces in front of the two girls for the sake of being polite.


    "I will. Well, take care," Adam said, then he turned and walked away.


    Liu looked at Adam''s back and slightly squinted her eyes, then she also turned and returned to the ship.


    The only person who looked like she found what was happening was Zax, and even after Liu and Adam left, she still stood there with a puzzled face.


    "Miss Zax, we need to go now," one of the Imperial soldiers said, looking at Zax like she was a little girl who witnessed her parents parting ways.


    After Liu walked for a while, she nced back at Zax but she was unable to say anything nor had any idea of what to say in such a situation.


    Meeting Adam changed her as a person and she was aware of that, but there were also changes that she wasn''t yet aware of and would probably discover by herselfter.


    Despite that, she had seen a glimpse of what Adam was dealing with, but she couldn''t describe it and didn''t even understand what it was. In the end, It was just a feeling.


    However, she had also her battles that had yet toe so she was not in the position of helping him, and Adam appeared to not want to involve her in his problems.


    Of course, Liu knew that it might be just her imagination, and maybe she was trying to find excuses. Yet, she couldn''t understand why would she find excuses in the first ce.


    ''It''s not like I...'' Liu knew that she shouldn''t be thinking about such a thing, so she dismissed every thought that popped inside of her mind about this matter.


    *****


    Adam had undergone an insane growth in just a short amount of time, and it was visible just by looking at his physical appearance.


    He became taller, and his face was sharp and more mature looking despite his age.


    Nevertheless, it was not the only thing about him that had reached a new level.


    "A-dam! Adam!" His mother shouted in tears when she saw the silhouette of his only son who had gone missing for almost a year.


    For Adam, it might have been just a few weeks, but for his parents, the fact of not receiving any news about their son for a year was worse than seeing their swallowed by a gigantic monster.


    Because Adam had now a sharper mind, he instantly understood that he had underestimated the seriousness of the situation, and most of the time he was still only thinking about himself.


    It was true that worrying about his parents too much wouldn''t do anything good for him and the others while he was trying to survive, he could now feel the weight of this whole incident.<sub> </sub>


    Adam''s eyes were locked on the man who was sitting in a wheelchair next to his crying mother.


    At that time, Adam felt something that he didn''t want to feel again. He med himself.


    His father looked back at him and smiled faintly, but Adam hesitated to walk forward.


    Getting power-ups and new cool abilities were indeed cool, and it was not like what happened was his fault, because he was also a victim.


    Nevertheless, his father was now missing a leg, and half of his face was covered with ugly scars, and Adam couldn''t do anything about it even with his newly acquired abilities.


    His parents and his was just the victim of horrible coincidences. But if it wasn''t? What if he could have prevented it, or so Adam thought?


    Again, there was no use to think about such a thing, and Adam knew this. All he could do was face the reality. However, he swore to himself that he wouldn''t let his parents die no matter what happens in the future.


    These two individuals were the closest to Adam in this world, and even though he could always act like he didn''t care about them, which would be easier, he didn''t want to lose thest bit of humanity in him.


    Acting like he was special and so he didn''t need anyone else to get what he wanted was indeed easy, but facing people and their sincere emotions was always hard in every world.


    "I am sorry, Mom, Dad," Adam said sincerely and he almost couldn''t keep his emotions in check.


    However, his mother hugged him tightly without saying anything.


    The past couldn''t be changed because Adam wouldn''t have be what he was at the moment if it was modified.


    "Why are you looking at me like that? I am fine! Come here!" His father said, flexing his biceps.


    Adam knew that his father tried to not make him worry about what happened to him, but Adam knew that parents would always avoid exposing their worries to their children. He already experienced this when his mother was about to die in his previous life.


    He was also smart enough to understand what the consequences of his father''s conditions were and it implied.


    Adam kneeled in front of his father and his father put his hands on his head.


    "I will be someone that you can be proud of father. You don''t have to worry about a thing," Adam said, and he was sincere, casting away his fake character while he was with his parents.


    "I never doubted that you will be a great man, Adam. I was just worried that I would lose you before that happens," Julius said, and he his tone was filled with regret.


    There were other people present there but they didn''t dare to utter words looking at this scene.


    Moreover, even though his parents couldn''t feel it, the other people present there who looked like Adam could feel the pressure of his aura because at that moment he failed to control it.


    The Lord who epted to receive Julius and Marie as well as the survivors from their was the most shocked by Adam''s appearance.


    He witnessed what happened during Adam''sing to age ceremony, and seeing Adam again made him doubt his eyes.


    ''He is almost like apletely different person. I can''t even tell how powerful this young man is, even though he doesn''t look strong at all. There is something mysterious about him, and something is telling me that I should not interrupt their reunion," the Lord thought, however, when he looked around, he realized that everyone else also didn''t move from where they stood.


    After that, Adam stood up and approached the Lord and his family, then bowed his head.


    "I express my deepest gratitude for what you have done for my family and the people living on my. I will never forget your kindness," Adam said.


    Even though there were a lot of lords who had vast territories, they find it bothersome to wee the survivors, but this friend of Julius insisted on helping Julius. He was truly a good friend and a generous man despite being a high-level noble himself. He prioritized his good rtionship with his trusted friend despite not getting much from it. After all, Julius was just a mere level 5 noble.


    "Your words make my actions worth it. You will be always wee here and I will make sure that your family and people livefortably," the Lord said.


    Adam was genuinely surprised to see this kind of person existed.

 Chapter 128 Reunion (Part 2)

    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    My reunion with my parents made me feel a lot ofplex emotions, and it made me reflect about a lot of things.


    However, I could see that my parents had a hard time trying to figure how they should act with me.


    I knew that they had a lot of thing that they had to ask and a lot of things that they wanted to say, but after seeing me, both of them just smiled.


    I would never know what they felt at that moment, but I could tell that they cared about me.


    There were a few people who were present there, and I didn''t exactly know if they were weing or whatever their goal was, but the airfield was quite crowded.


    Apart from the Lord to whom I just expressed my gratitude, there were other individuals wearing fancy clothes and looked at me with curious eyes.


    Despite that, it was not like I cared about them, so as soon as I finished expressing my gratitude, I returned next to my parent.


    However, my father asked me to take him a little bit away from the crowd. Then, he looked at me in the eyes, and took a deep breath.


    "Look ahead. Don''t turn back," he said, and I didn''t know what he was trying to say. "I am already happy to have you back, to have wonderful friends, and to have a loving family. You were always more thoughtful than you appeared to be, so you must have already known what my conditions implies. So continue forward, because our people needs you. I am sorry¡­"


    I knew that my father was putting up a tough attitude in front of my mother and everyone else. I didn''t know why, but even though I just came back, he decided to show his weak self in front of me.


    Of course, I understood that he was talking about the future of the people who lived on the under his jurisdiction. At that moment, I knew that he didn''t have much time left.


    I clenched my fist tightly and gritted my teeth. I just swore that I would never let my parents die, but my father''s words made me realize once again that I was still weak.


    How much did he have? A year? A month? I couldn''t tell, but I knew that I had to do something.


    "I see, you are really smart," my father remarked. "Why are you making that face? I am going to enjoy my remaining time as much as I can. I had already aplished a lot of things in my life, even though they went up in in smoke just like that, but my only regret is leaving your mother and sister behind when they need me. I am sorry, but it looks like you will be busy soon hahaha¡­"


    I didn''t expect to hear that I had now a sister, but still, my father talked like he was at the of the road.


    It looked like he was more worried about what would happen to my mother and my sister than anything else, and after knowing that I was alive, he couldn''t help but say these words.


    Cristal had already went to retrieve the data that the suits that I built for my parents recorded so I would know everything that had happened.


    However, that didn''t change the fact that I was angry, and the most irritating fact about it was that I didn''t know where to direct this anger. At the gigantic monster? But did that monster even know what it was doing?


    Thus, the only responsible for this was the one who created the monsters, and such a being would be simr to God. So, would that mean that I needed to consider this God as my enemy? Would that make all of the monsters disappear?


    I didn''t know the answers to these questions. I was still weak and ignorant, and I was certain of that, because once I thought about the monsters and their creators, it always lead to moreplex issues that could involve countless universes.


    ''Am I thinking too much about this? Maybe I can''t just simplify things that is alreadyplex¡­ Even at times like this, these are the thoughts that cross my mind. I have really changed¡­ If this continue, what kind of person am I going to turn into,'' I thought to myself.


    It was not like I could feel any emotions at all, but somehow, I had hard times grasping the seriousness of certain situations and always ended up thinking about them as trivial matters.


    I ended thinking that what I was dealing with was more bigger andplex, so everything else didn''t look that hard. I was already thinking about a lot of things that would only happen in future, thinking that everything that I had now would be lost if I didn''t n ahead.<sub> </sub>


    I wasn''t wrong. However, my father didn''t see the world from my point of view, so he was more concerned about the present.


    "Adam, if I tell you this, it is not because your my son and you are obliged to do what I am telling you to do. However, to love is to protect, and to protect is to sacrifice, and to sacrifice is to lose something important for the sake of your loved ones. You can''t escape this cycle, as you can see. I learned something j this life, and it is ''doing is good is always harder thatmitting evil deeds'' because you need to take the responsibility for every one of your actions. In other words, if you care for someone, you will have to take the responsibility of the feeling that this person would develop for you," my father said.


    He talked for quite a bit but I didn''t interrupt him. I knew that this might be thest time we had a conversation like this.


    *****


    "Her name is Misha?" I said, looking at the cute baby girl in my mother''s arms.


    "Yes, it was your father''s idea," my mother exined.


    "I didn''t expect to look at my sister this soon," I said in a genuinely surprised tone.


    I knew that almost a hear had passed while I was beyond the portal, but to think that my mother would be pregnant during that time. No wonder my father said what he said.


    The baby held my finger and I felt her warmth. She was just two months old, but she was cuter than how other I remembered other babies looked.


    Looking at her, I felt a little bit sad, but I couldn''t let such emotion show on my face. After all, it was supposed to a festive day.


    The Lord Tylliard, my father''s friend, prepared a party to wee me, and as soon as I arrived, we immediately headed to the most luxurious building of the entire.


    The Lord said that he considered me and my family as very important guests, so I shouldn''t feel indebted to him. He was indeed a good guy, and my father was lucky to have a friend like him. Honestly, I believed that there were only ten people like him within the Empire.


    "Your sister would grow up fine here," Lord Tylliard said. "You are going to attend the Holy Academy, right?"


    The other nobles were not hostile towards my family, but they were not great friend with my father, unlike Tylliard, thus, only him talked a lot with us during the party.


    "Yes, I am nning to do that," I answered.


    "My daughter Amelia will be going with you too. Do you remember her?" Lord Tylliard, asked.


    "Unfortunately, a lot happened and I forgot certain things, but I am sure we will meet often from now."


    "Hahaha, my daughter would be shocked if he she heard that. Unfortunately, she''s been acting oddtely because she reached that age. I am surprised that you have a very mature attitude despite your age," Tylliard continued.


    If his daughter heard what he just said, I bet she would be more upset, but I knew that he did mean to talk about her badly. He appeared to be worried about her more than anything, and he was certainly trying to hook her up with me.


    I didn''t know why he did such a thing even though he just met me, but I guess he had good eyes. After all, he chose someone such as my father to be his friend despite their differences. Most of the time, low ranked nobles would be minions of high ranked nobles, so there was not much of a trust in their rtion.


    The low ranked nobles would wait for opportunities to take advantage of the high level nobles, and the high ranked nobles would continue to exploit the low ranked.


    "Well, I learned from my father. It''s thanks to my family that I became like this," I said.


    Really, I couldn''t even imagine what would have be of me if I was born somewhere else.

 Chapter 129 Reunion (Part 3)

    After a while, Lord Tylliard finally asked me about what happened, and even though my parents didn''t want to bring this topic up yet, the Lord was a rather direct person.


    My parents certainly believed that the things that I experienced during thesest few days must have been really traumatic, and conversation with my father was one thing, but apart from that, they didn''t ask anything out of the ordinary.


    They were so shocked to see that I was not as scared or traumatized as they thought I would be, and despite all, I appreciated the fact that there were people that were genuinely worried about me.


    "So you decided to go save her? Even though you were not sure what kind of enemy you face?" Lord Tylliard asked.


    After I began recounting the slightly modified version of the events of these past few weeks, beginning from Liu''s abduction, a crowd formed around me.


    I guessed that they were interested in my story, and I didn''t feel bothered by their presence, on the contrary, it would save me a lot of time and effort.


    With this, the rumor would circte in the Empire, and if it went ording to my ns, it would create a situation that I could advantage of when I attend the Holy Academy.


    "She passed out and appeared helpless in front of the enemy so I couldn''t abandon her," I said. Then I began to exin the theory rted to primordial particles.


    Hearing my exnation, people began to chatter among themselves. Some of them doubted my words and said that I was exaggerating, but the others praised me for my intelligence. Still, I didn''t care about their opinion as long as they it didn''t go against my ns.


    "But in the end, even with Zax''s battle suit, I wasn''t strong enough to go against the monsters'' king. However, the baby did something miraculous¡­" I continued.


    When I began to talk about Verte, some of the older women began to show looks of sympathy on their faces. Liu also had the same expression, but since they didn''t know about the whole truth, they all thought that Verte died and was gone forever.


    I never revealed the fact that Verte had already merged with my would, even to Liu, and of course, it would be stupid to reveal the existence of the fragments of the tree of life.


    "What a beautiful soul," Lord Tylliard muttered after listening to my words.


    Some questioned the authenticity of my story because thinking about it, a baby would never be able to think about sacrificing their lives for others or whatnot, but Lord Tylliriad looked like he believed what I said.


    "Verte was not just a normal baby. She was a special existence," I said because I disliked the fact that some people thought that Verte''s was just inside my imagination. Well, even though I disliked it, I didn''t do anything about it apart from saying these words.


    Then, I continued to tell the whole story, about what we found out when we returned, what we did to survive, and how we managed toe back.


    As I continued though, some people looked at me with doubtful eyes, as if they began to treat me as a liar inside their mind.


    In my head, Iughed at them, thinking about what would be their reaction if I told everything in detail without simplifying the story so that they could understand.


    "Don''t worry, here, you won''t risk anything. The Raizel family had turned this into a fortress," Lord Tylliard said.


    His reaction was justified because he only hear about the simplified version of the story. I never included the existence of the dragons, the ck-armored guys'' abilities, thest boss''s power, the tentacle monsters, or the zombies. After all, it would be a pain to exin and manage to deal with all of these.


    It would also reveal some of my trump cards so I avoided doing that at all costs. And even though I revealed that Liu had awakened her authority, it was only to hide the fact that she had be stronger than that.


    If people knew that she had a tree''s fragment, people would certainly go after her. Thus, in the modified version of the story, I lowered thest boss''s true power by a few levels to make the story more believable, as well as the monsters'' levels.


    "Thank you, I am reassured to hear that," I said, and I had an unwavering smile on my face during this whole process.


    After that, the party continued for a few hours, and Lord Tylliard began to ask me about my ns.<sub> </sub>


    I didn''t know what his goals were but it looked like he wanted to support me, however, I should keep an eye on his daughter.


    Of course, he didn''t request me to do that directly but the way he said it suggested that much.


    I could certainly handle everything rted to the Holy Academy by myself if I needed to, but having the help of someone more knowledgeable about the Empire than me was not a bad thing.


    At this point, it would take me a certain amount of time to gather all of the information that I need about the Empire and I needed to act as carefully as possible. By this, I meant to not let anyone see through my acting.


    "Well, as long as we are in the same academy, I feel like we get along," I answered Lord Tylliard when he insisted that I should be his daughter''s friend.


    "Haha, I won''t appreciate it if you do so," Lord Tylliard answered in a cheerful voice. "I hope she was here today. I tried to convince her toe but in the end, she stayed inside her room."


    I listen to the Lord talking about his daughter, and from the look of it, he loved his daughter a bit too much. The other people had already left and began to chat among themselves, but Lord Tylliard didn''t stop talking about his daughter.


    Well, I didn''t feel ufortable, and rather than talking about other ufortable topics, I would rather listen to his worries.


    In the end, it was only me, my parents, and him who continued to chat about various things rted to my enrollment in the Holy Academy.


    "A test?"


    "Yes, a test," the Lords answered my question. "You need to pass this test before you can join the Academy."


    Well, it made sense for the Holy Academy to test their future students, but I was more interested in what the test consisted of.


    "Are you aware of what this test consists of?" I asked.


    "The test will have two parts. They test your power level and then your knowledge, and based on the results of these results, you will be put along with people who are at the same level as you," Lord Tylliard exined. "This year will be special though, because of the tinum generation. In other words, there will be a special ss in which those people will be put together and receive special training and education to be the Empire''s most valuable asset for the war toe."


    The Lord liked talking, and even his wife looked like she wanted to stop her husband from taking too much time to time.


    However, I felt like the test and the whole tinum generation was nothing spectacr and felt a little bitmon. Well, it must have been because I read a lot of ''isekai'' stories with Academy themes.


    Nevertheless, the Academy was not my main focus, so it didn''t matter to matter how they do the test, because whatever they threw at me, I would pass the test.


    Nheless, I was also a little bit curious about the people who were called the tinum generation. It sounded like this had something to do with how the monsters evolved.


    ''Does that mean that humans evolved too? But how? I thought that only the fragments of the tree of life could help an individual to reach the next level of their existence¡­ But what if it wasn''t?'' These thoughts crossed my mind, and it seemed like I couldn''t help but think about different things at the same time every time a new topic was discussed.


    The discussion continued for a while after that, and it was only about eight in the evening that the party was about to end.


    Still, even though I was not traumatized or extremely scared, throwing up a weing party for someone who disappeared for a year was quite a weird idea.


    I knew that there was no ill intent behind the idea itself, but if it were someone else, I wondered how would they react because I felt like my attitude was weird.


    I was indeed aware that I was too calm while talking about everything that had happened, but I didn''t know how else I should have acted.

 Chapter 130 Reunion (Part 4)

    The party finally ended after a few hours of talking so I was escorted back to my new residence along with my family.


    At the end of the party though, there were a few people who approached me with different intentions, and honestly, their attitude annoyed me a little.


    I didn''t even know how people in this world treated those monsters'' victims and their families, but I guess this party was meant to cheer me up.


    "Rest for now, we will talk tomorrow," my father said, then he left with my mother.


    Looking at them, I knew that they were restraining themselves from asking too many questions or showing how much they had panicked.


    I didn''t want to waste their effort even though I was fine with them asking me everything they wanted to know. I guessed that seeing me alive was enough for them for the time being.


    "Let me fetch some of my belongings and bring them here," I said to the maids that were tasked to take care of me.


    Of course, I already told Lord Tylliard that I had a personal maid but I didn''t tell him about the dragon girl. I only referred to her as another survivor that I identally found somewhere inside the ruined city and couldn''t leave to die


    I exined that due to the harsh environment, her body had slightly changed and she was notfortable under other people''s gaze so I left her with my maid.


    The Lord Tylliard didn''t even bring this topic up again during the whole conversation and I was grateful for that.


    Thus, all of this time, I asked nca to hide somewhere inside of a small vessel that was inside of the main ship, which was called Grandcruiser or whatever its name was, with the little dragon girl.


    When we arrived, this vessel left the main ship without anyone noticing, then I just exined that some of my belongings were inside of it.


    Of course, I used my power to conceal it while the imperial soldiers were inspecting the ship. They could only see a dead end while they were exploring one of the ship''spartments, but I made sure that it didn''t look too out of ce.


    After that, I asked Cristal to perform various tasks, mainly to gather as much information as possible. Still, I didn''t want to take any risk, so I asked her to do only something that was not too dangerous.


    I walked towards the ship, and somehow I felt like referring to the dragon girl as a dragon was a little bit weird. I should have given her name, or so I thought.


    "Dragon girl¡­ Little dragon girl¡­ Lidrag? Okay, Linda, that will do," I said to myself.


    After that, I entered the ship, and something wrapped around my head.


    "Hahahaha, baba!" A child''s voice echoed inside my ears.


    "Oh, you are finally back?" Bianca said in a slightly displeased tone. "Handling this little brat was a pain."


    I took Linda away from my head, but then she started to fly around me with a joyful face.


    "Don''t worry, things just got interesting," I said and smiled at nca.


    "What is that? Hey! What did you do?" nca panicked when she saw my face and it looked like she was on her guard.


    I didn''t know why was she in such a state even though I just smiled at her.


    "From now, you will take on Cristal''s ce and be my personal maid," I said.


    "What? Why would I do that?" nca replied and looked at me with disdain. It seemed like she was familiar with the word maid.


    "Do you have the choice?" I asked.


    "Who do you think I am? I will do whatever I want," nca said, and it appeared like staying alone for a while made her reflect on various things, bringing her prideful attitude to the surface again.


    She was really a really good woman if she just didn''t talk like a fifteen years old girl sometimes.


    "I see, so why are you here again? You could have chosen to note with us too you know. And even if you want to go now, you can leave immediately. Your presence is not of any utility for me." I said, nonchntly. "However, I will not help you with your mission, and our give and take rtionship ends here. Look, the door is open, you can go now. Make sure to not be spotted by some weird individual during your journey alone in this world though."


    "Kuh¡­" Hearing my words, nca had aplicated expression on her face.


    "Here are your new clothes, put them on." I handed a set of maids out as I said those words.


    "It''s not fair¡­" Bianca mumbled under her breath but went to put on the maid outfit anyway.<sub> </sub>


    "And you, your name will be Linda. Cristal, did manage to put together that thing?" I asked.


    "Yes, master," then Cristal appeared next to me. She was always there all of this time, but she was just using one of her new abilities. It was always one of my first ideas when I saw Cristal, but I could only put it into use after she got an upgrade. Thus, Cristal now could turn invisible when she was in her initial form. However, there were some minor problems when she was in her humanoid and battle suit form.


    I took the item in form of a beautiful cor from Cristal and put it on Linda''s neck.


    "Hahaha!" She looked happy about it, but her ability to speak was not fully developed yet.


    "Don''t cause any problem and listen to me, do you understand?" I said in a stern voice. I wasn''t even sure if Linda could understand me but I needed to warn her.


    The cor would kill her instantly if she went out of control because I couldn''t put her family at any risk.


    I nned to leave her in a serene environment where she could grow as a human. However, that didn''t mean that she would lose her monster instinct or abilities, and she would be still dangerous.


    Nheless, I didn''t want to kill her needlessly because she was a rare specimen.


    "Mmmm¡­" Linda let out a sad cry after hearing my voice.


    "Okay, as long as you understand I won''t scold you," I said, patting her head.


    She waspletely different from the rampaging monster that she used to be, and it made me once again wonder about the true nature of the monsters.


    "So what now?" While I was dealing with Linda, nca came back and she was wearing the maid outfit.


    Seeing her, I raised my thumb and smiled.


    "What is that? You are a little bit scary when you smile like that," nca said.


    Hearing what she said, I once again wondered about her weird reaction every time I smiled.


    "It means that the outfit looks good on you," I answered.


    "Is that sarcasm?" Bianca tilted her head and red at me.


    "Don''t tell me that no one has ever told you that you are beautiful before," I said half-jokingly but nca looked somehow taken aback by what I said. "Really? Okay, make sure to not approach other men needlessly. With this naivety of yours, these beasts will take advantage of you."


    "Shut up! I am not stupid," nca said and she looked like she was sulking. Well, I might have gone too far with that.


    "Okay, let''s go back now. You,e here, and stay quiet! Shhhhh!" I said, taking Linda in my arms and asking her to not make any noise like she constantly did.


    Fortunately, she was obedient at times like this, so I patted her on the head. "Good!"


    Every time she did a good thing, I patted her in the head to show her that what she did was good.


    After that, the four of us headed towards our new residence, and I requested for nca to have a separate room.


    "You will stay here. Make sure that you behave," I said, looking at nca who was in her maid outfit.


    "Don''t treat me like a kid," she answered and closed the door.


    "She is rather a cute person, isn''t she?" I mumbled as I led my way to my room.


    I decided that Linda would be staying with me for the time being, because I needed to observe her for a bit longer before deciding what I would do with her when I go to the Holy Academy.


    Still, as soon as Linday down on top of the soft bed, she instantly fell asleep. While sleeping, she wasn''t different from a little girl, making me wonder about this whole monster''s evolution deal.


    "Cristal, let''s hear what you''ve found," I said, then Cristal materialized in her humanoid form next to me. "I hope Joshua managed to decipher my message though."


    "Yes, to begin with, I will talk about what happened on the day of the incident," Cristal said.

 Chapter 131 Reunion (Part 5)

    A few hours had passed since Linda fell asleep but Cristal continued to analyze the information that she had gathered.


    Without a question, I made sure that every word we said didn''t get out of the room as I never knew when or from where someone could observe me.


    Thus, with an eptable level of certainty that I could talk freely, I began to wonder out loud while I listened to Cristal''s report.


    "That would mean that monsters appeared at the same time we entered the portal. But for what purpose? Thest boss didn''t seem to be aware of what was happening beyond the portal, but it seemed like they found Liu using the monsters. There is something odd about this," I remarked.


    From the information Cristal gathered, people started to panic after seeing the huge eyeball in the sky and the disaster urred after that. Suddenly, a lot of portals opened and monsters came out, rampaging around the cities.


    The question that I was curious about was how did this phenomenon happen? I was also wondering if thest boss these monsters, and if so, how?


    The answers to these questions would indeed increase my understanding of the beings known as monsters as well as how they were rted to the tree fragments, in other words to the primordial gods.


    Nevertheless, there were limited data and thest boss himself looked like he was confused about a lot of things.


    ''Was it because he has two different personalities?'' I thought, and thinking back about how he acted, that seemed to be probable.


    "Cristal, for me to be able to connect the dots, I need to know exactly about the person that I can''t forget, or should I say, the tree fragment that developed a personality inside of me," I said.


    Cristal nodded and began to talk about Pride''s origin and what he did to protect me during thest fifteen years.


    "That fruit? To think that my father was that kind of person. I can''t still forgive him though but I can see him in a different light," Imented.


    To think that Cristal was initially created by my father. I was not as shocked as I should be though because, at this point, everything was beyond insane ifpared to what I thought was absurd before.


    Still, there were a lot of inconsistencies in Cristal''s story. For example, how did my fathere into this world? How did he meet Pride? How did he convince Pride to follow his instructions? And who made it possible for that to happen?


    However, Cristal seemed like she didn''t have the answer to these questions. Thus, I had to use my imagination and think about various theories based on what I knew about Verte and thest boss.


    First of all, Pride was a tree fragment but it seemed like he was more special. I was not yet sure about why he had the power of primordial authority, but unlike Verte, he had a distinct personality.


    Consequently, if he didn''t want to protect me of his own volition, he wouldn''t have done it. After all, Verte also sacrificed her life to save us.


    Still, Pride said, from what I could remember, that I should be the one giving him orders. Also, when I used my authority to create a new ability, my authority adjusted the final product to fit my needs based on my knowledge and my imagination.


    In other words, the tree fragments could only activate their hosts'' memories and knowledge to be able to activate their powers.


    Still, that would mean that they would not be able to do something that their host couldn''t do, couldn''t think of, and couldn''t imagine.


    All of that led me to think that everything that Pride did was something that I was capable of doing, which reminded me of what Cristal said.


    Thinking about this, a smile appeared on my face. Once again, I felt like everything was connected.


    Still, there was one problem with this theory and, Pride''s origin was the answer but I didn''t have enough data.


    After all, I didn''t know if the fragment that gave birth to Pride and my authority was the only one that existed. What if these other people could control the primordial authority of Creation? Was that the answer and the existence of the monsters? And if that was the case, it would raise another question rted to the nature of the primordial authorities.


    Pride said that I needed to gather the other tree fragments if I wanted to ascend to the next level of my existence, unlocking my full potential and controlling my power, but he never mentioned about nature of the primordial authority that was unleashed in the nature by the God of creation.


    Of course, there were not the only issues that I needed to think about but again, due to limited information, I was forced to cast them aside for the time being.<sub> </sub>


    "And, did you get something from the Imperial mothership?"  I asked Cristal.


    "Unfortunately, I could get any significant information due to the high level defense within the system. The one who made it must be a genius. I could, of course, hack it easily, but as you instructed, I didn''t take any risk," Cristal replied.


    Well, I didn''t expect her to do anything dangerous in the first ce, and I must just observe what was happening inside of the ship.


    Thus, I nodded at Cristal''s report while watching the footage that she recorded while wondering stealthily inside the ship.


    "I see, so they are performing various experimentation on the monsters to find their weakness," I mumbled.


    Still, I expected them to be more aware of the danger that the monsters and the portal posed.


    "It seems like there is certainly someone who hide some information to manipte the mass. From the look of it, the Empire seems to think, or at least the Emperor, that they could do something about the monsters if they attacked the Empire. How can they be that confident?" I thought to myself.


    Would that mean that they have various trump cards to fight against monsters that could destroy an entire? I knew that the Empire''s capital should be hundreds of times bigger than our, but I doubt that there were only one of these gigantic octopuses.


    When I tried to think about it from a different point of view, it looked like this whole preparation for the inevitable uing war was camouge for another n. Or were they just ignorant? Well, that seemed unlikely, because at least, the one who would lead to the destruction of the world was somewhere in the Empire.


    In conclusion, I had a lot of things to do to find out the answer to these questions.


    After that, I reflected on various things before calling it a day and slept.


    *****


    The next morning, I was gathered around a dining table with my parents.


    "Have you slept well, Adam?" My mother asked.


    "Yes, I never slept so well in thest few days. I ampletely recovered," I said with a smile on my face.


    "I am d to hear that," my father said. "The test for the Holy Academy''s entrance is just in a few days so if you still want to go, you need to leave tomorrow."


    Saying these words my father looked worried, and it seemed like he didn''t want me to go at all.


    I knew why he thought that way, and not only him, but I could also see aplex expression on my mother''s face despite both of them trying to be calm.


    From the look of it, they discussed it all night and finally decided to not impose their choice on me. They didn''t want to let me go somewhere else after what happened, but it looked like they also thought about what I would feel if I didn''t go.


    "Father, mother, this is necessary for me to be someone who can protect myself and everyone that I care about. The most important thing that I learned during thesest few days was that I was not yet ready for the responsibility that I must carry. I am still weak and ignorant," I exined.


    "I know that you are worried about me, but I am also worried about you. This is why I decided by myself to achieve the goals that I set for myself so that you would be proud of me," I added.


    Hearing my words my mother began to get emotional even though she was good at handling herself most of the time.


    "I knew that you would say that. I have never seen you look so determined before you came back. Your were always smart, but somehow youcked ambition, or should I say, you just wanted to leave peacefully. I had no problem with that because you did everything expected from a Lord''s son, but now... Well, your mother and I will always support you," my father said.


    "Thank you," I said in a sincere tone.


    They loved me and didn''t want to lose me, and when they finally let me go somewhere by myself, something bad happened. Letting me go for a second time must have been tough for them.

 Chapter 132 Reunion (Part 6)

    Since I was going directly to the Empire''s capital the next day, I decided to spend as much as possible with my family.


    We went to a lot of beautiful ces together and talked about various topics rted to my life if I managed to pass the Academy''s test.


    The under the jurisdiction of Lord Tylliard was almost ten times bigger than ours so there we couldn''t possibly visit all of the touristic spots in one day, and in the first ce, that was not the point of our little outing.


    Still, I was surprised to see how much the technology and the civilization on the had advanced to a level that I thought that it was better than the most advanced city on Earth. Despite the modern-looking buildings, the green tree and multicolored nts were more remarkable, making the scenery a lot more enjoyable to look at. However, that didn''t mean that I could just ignore the floating vehicles that roamed in the sky, following a virtual road.


    I wondered how long it would take for the humans living on Earth to progress to this level. After all, I was sure that I would be able to go back to Earth again one day.


    Putting whatever I was thinking aside though, my mother began to talk about how I should take care of myself when I live alone. She looked like she genuinely thought that I wasn''t able to care for myself and I didn''t know why she had this idea, but I guessed that it might be because the chores and some of my needs were taken care of by maids before.


    Looking at her, I knew that she wanted to do something for me, thus, I listened to every word she said without interrupting her.


    After she finished giving me different advice, ranging from how I should brush my teeth to what type of girls I should avoid, I finally said something.


    "Thanks for the advice, mom. However, I think that it would be possible for me to bring Cristal along ording to Lord Tylliard," I exined, and my mother looked a little bit surprised.


    "Cristal? Your friend? But how do I say this¡­ What if she gets pregnant?" My Mom said with a worried expression.


    "She is a professional maid, mom. We don''t have any indecent rtionship," I answered.


    "Mmm¡­ Well, you are at that age, after all," my mother nodded while saying these words.


    "Hahaha¡­ You don''t even try to hide your real thoughts though," I said looking at her.


    "As your mother, I am not against your choice when ites to girls because you seem to be smart, but don''t forget that you are still young, and raising children is hard," she continued.


    I shook my head and smiled. "Well, I am still searching for the ideal person. As of now, I am still focusing on bing more capable in other fields.


    "Well, you are like your father when ites to romance then. Before meeting me, he wasn''t interested in girls at all and some people began to think that he loved men," my mother said.


    "Cough!" My father who was listening to my mother and me all of this time choked on the beverage that he was drinking.


    "However, after meeting me, he turned into a different person. He even said that he would fight the whole world if he needed to. I always wondered what was going on inside of his head, if he was seriously thinking about what he said or just spouting nonsense, but I was just happy to see that he had no eyes for other women and was only focused on me," my mother said, and she sounded proud of what she said.


    I felt a little a bit emotional seeing her like that and considering my father''s condition. My mother was truly a wonderful woman.


    "You will know this feeling too when you see someone like how your father saw me. I don''t know what did he see, but you should ask him," she added.


    "Hahaha. Okay, I will do thatter," I replied with a smile on my face.


    After that, we continued to discuss various things and enjoyed a lot of local delicacies while reminiscing about my childhood.


    My father who was always the most talkative of us was unusually quiet and I knew why he was like that. Still, it didn''t make the mood awkward or anything, and I could see that he was just enjoying listening and watching us.


    My father and I didn''t say anything to each other but somehow I could understand what he was thinking just by looking at his expression while he was staring at my mother and my sister.


    Seeing this, I knew that I needed to do something about his condition. My father was fatally injured and his heart was almost crushed so they had to implement artificial organs inside him.<sub> </sub>


    However, his life was still in danger and there was no telling when this artificial organ would stop functioning correctly.


    Indeed, the situation took a dramatic turn but considering what happened, I was happy that at least my parents were still alive. As long as they were alive, I would be able to do something about their condition and I was already working on something that could help prolong my father''s life with Cristal''s help.


    Nheless, these thoughts only crossed my mind for a second and then I continued to enjoy the time I spent with my family as much as I could again.


    *****


    Later that evening, I began to prepare various things that I would need while I was in the Academy after talking with Lord Tylliard, as well as the things that I needed to take care of before I left.


    I learned from him that it was not rare for the students to bring their attendants as most of them were the children of high-level Lords. Thus, I decided to take nca with me.


    It was a decision that I took after a lot of consideration because if I decided to bring her, she could cause a lot of problems or hinder the progression of my ns, but thinking about some of the advantages of bringing her, I decided to opt for the first option.


    After all, she was a veteran fighter and was also good at acting undercover, at least from what I could see, but I assumed that she was more talented than that. Still, I was a little bit worried about her character which was a little bit inconsistent when she was in some particr situation.


    "Don''t talk at all. Avoid talking, and just use gestures if someone tried to talk to you and I am not there. I can''t let you mess up with my ns," I said.


    "Hey! I never said that I wille with you!" Bianca shouted.


    Ignoring her, I continued to think about various issues that I might face during the first few days at the Empire.


    Normally, such a thing should just smoothly as long as I follow the procedure but since I had a lot of other ns in motion, I couldn''t take things lightly at the very beginning or I would have to readjust my ns again.


    "Hey! Listen to me!" nca continued to speak loudly.


    "This is what I am talking about. You should avoid this attitude at all costs. You should be the cold, mysterious and beautiful maid who secretly loves his master even though he is such a brat and decided to support him despite all. Mmm¡­ This setting should do," I mumbled.


    "What are you even talking about? I never agreed to this!"


    "Are you saying that you can find your sister alone? Moreover, I still have some questions for you. You seem to like the food here, don''t you? I wonder when you would eat such a thing again during your journey to find your sister alone," I mumbled.


    "Do you think I am stupid?!" nca eximed.


    "No, you are not. So you should know that there was no choice for you to begin with. If you listen to me, it will make things easier for both of us," I said pointing at my head. "Use your head now, and answer me. Are you going on a journey alone?"


    "Tsk! Hmph! You have a bad character. No wonder Liu doesn''t like you. She must have seen through your obnoxious smile," nca mumbled founder her breath, but it seemed like she epted to follow my instructions.


    Thus, I began to exin how she should act when she was with me and how she should handle other people.


    And after I finished giving nca those instructions, I decided to think about what I should do with Linda.


    Of course, I couldn''t bring her to the Empire, but I could just leave her alone too because she needed to interact with decent human beings in a serene environment.


    When thinking about that, I believed that living with my mother would be the best. However, that came with certain risks that I needed to consider seriously. Still, after taking all of the precautions, I decided to proceed with this idea.


    One of Cristal''s clones would continue to monitor her growth though and would eliminate her if she showed signs of turning back to her old self.

 Chapter 133 To The Heart Of The Empire (Part 1)

    The next day, I woke up very early and began to prepare for my trip to the Empire.


    While doing so, I began to think about the agreeable time that I spent with my family the day before.


    ''For some reason, Mom''s character changed a bit. Is it because of Dad''s situation,'' I pondered, but it was not like she was acting.


    From the data that Cristal''s connected, it seemed like my mother left the before my father because he wanted to continue searching for me. My mother seemed to have felt a little bit guilty about this fact.


    Instead of feeling sad about this, I smiled because everything I would achieve in this world would be meaningful as long as there were people who cared about it like that. Thus, I couldn''t let them down.


    "I have a viin woman to deal with, don''t I?" I mumbled without any particr reason. After all, no sane people would be as strong as a God just to deal with a single woman, and the issues rted to my family appeared to be more important.


    Yet, if the world would be destroyed, there would be no family to worry about and the reason for such a thing was a woman. Again and again, I thought about how ridiculous this idea was. However, after the recent events and the new facts that I learned, it was possible, but the only question was, how?


    This was the reason why I was heading to the Empire, the Holy Academy, and everything else was just opportunities.


    "I will uncover the mystery behind this and create a world where my family can leave in peace, even if it''s just temporary. Who cares about what happens next as long as they could die happily? Also, I could never put my mind to finding my dream woman if this continues¡­ Lately, I tend to forget about this," or so I thought out loud.


    "Well, it feels like the relevance of this goal has diminished ifpared to what I could achieve now. Still, I would have loved it if someone loved me while I was still my old self and then apanied me while I was evolving to this point. After all, how do I know that someone loves me if they don''t ept me when I was at my worst? Makes me wonder about what Liu thought of me¡­"


    These thoughts crossed my mind but I knew that it was not the time to think about love and romance. This topic was something that needed to be dealt with carefully because it was important to me to have someone to die for.


    Indeed, I would be fine even if I was alone but if this situation continued for a while, I knew that I would be a different being altogether and not stay a human anymore.


    Well, I was exaggerating while thinking about these things, but thesest few days I felt that something was changing in me.


    Some people would consider this as a weakness and I knew what they wanted to imply, but they were just probably a bunch of people who were not loved by their families.


    Moreover, the love that was shared between two people was special, at least that was what I concluded after observing my parents, and I wanted something like that.


    Was that selfish? Was it cringeworthy? I didn''t care as long as I wouldn''t fill a void in my chest when I woke in the morning.


    Consequently, this train of thought led me to think that what I was about to do at the Empire was actually for my good and my happiness.


    Thinking about it made me feel a little bitplicated because it felt like everything that happened was actually for my good even though it was certainly not the case.


    It seemed like this part of my personality wasn''t affected by the changes that had happened to me. I was still worried about my love life, and I felt like it kept me as human despite everything that went through my mind most of the time.


    "Well, putting the love topic away, what should I do about you?" I wondered out loud, looking at the ck cape in front of me.


    All of this time, it stayed inside of this room, and I wasn''t wearing it since I met up with Joshua and Caroline.


    I was already wearing my uniform that those who would take the Academy''s test should wear on the day of the test.


    p The outfit itself was not extravagant, on contrary it was quite refined and looked extremely expensive to make, indicating that I was about to interact with a more advanced form of civilization. Still, I kinda disliked the fact that it was white and only with a little bit of ck here and there.</anda>


    "Okay, I will bring you. Wearing a ck cape on the exam day would make my new character more impactful," I said.<sub> </sub>


    After saying that, the ck put itself on my back and I made a charismatic pose.


    Swoosh!


    "Perfect! This is how the second rival of the main character should act," I said.


    To put it simply, I was trying to show off my power to hide my real power. And ying the second rival of the main character in all of these popr ''shounen'' novels would do the trick.


    These particr characters were prideful and most of the time, they tried to reach the main character''s first rival, the super genius, and perfect guy. "They have  indeed a certain level of skills, but they still struggle in some areas, and more importantly they have interesting background story with which the readers could rte, justifying their prideful and rough attitude."


    "Are you talking to yourself, master?"


    "I am visualizing my new identity. Hahaha¡­" I said while making another charismatic pose and walking forward. "This will do when I pass by the most powerful student¡­"


    The trick was to show off my skill but never do anything more than that. In other words, I needed to show that I was struggling when I was faced with problems beyond the skills that I was showing off.


    Along with that, I also needed to show that I was training in secret.


    Of course, I would attract a lot of attention if I did that but their curiosity would be directed at what I was trying to achieve by attending the Academy. Overthrowing the top students? Bing famous? Revenge? Only these trivial things would cross their minds as I would just look like a prideful kid who didn''t know much about the real world.


    Still, there would be people who would not be fooled by bad acting, thus I needed to take the risk and act like how a fearless but a bit ignorant young Lord with superiorityplex issues would act.


    "I cannot wait to receive a lot of challenges from those noble''s kids. I will also show my acting skills while the top students are beating me down¡­ I need to look at them with that defiant look on my face and say the famous line: ''I will take you down next time; then stand up and walk away with a determined face," I mumbled.


    "I''ve been wondering for a while now, but maybe you are just crazy," nca said looking at me. She joined me as soon as I woke up, then we talked about various things rted to Linda, the kind of character that she needed to y, and some general knowledge rted to the Empire and the Gift.


    "Well, I hope you understand what character you should y. But don''t you know about the fact that sometimes doing something silly can relieve your stress, and relieving your stress can increase your ability to focus?" I answered. What I did might have looked stupid but in fact, I just made it look silly.


    After all, even if it was a bit different, I would be more or less back at school again. I would spend my time inside a ssroom again.


    Thinking about it that way, I didn''t want to think about the dark side of this world all of the time. Maybe the Academy could be fun in some unexpected ways.


    "I am saying this again, but you are weird. Your smile is also creepy," nca said after hearing me and looked at me with cold eyes.


    "Is that how you talk to your master, Cristal?! I said in a deep voice as if scolding nca.


    "¡­" nca didn''t say anything but her expression said it all. For some reason, she was afraid of me. What did I even do to make her feel this way, I couldn''t remember doing anything much apart from threatening her a few times.


    "I am just ying my character. And you should get used to being called like that from now. Well, let''s go, my parents and everyone must be already waiting for us," I said, heading toward the door, and all of my luggage followed me as I used my power to transport them effortlessly.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Notice: Discord Server! You can now join the official discord server: https://discord.gg/FW37yPFq. There''s also a link in the synopsis if you can''t ess this one.

 Chapter 134 To The Heart Of The Empire (Part 2)

    A few people were already waiting for us as nca and I approached the ship in which we would be traveling directly to the Empire.


    p Most of them were not there to send me off, of course, because the Lord''s daughter was also going to take part in the Holy Academy''s test.</anda>


    This girl was the one who Lord Tylliard was talking about. He exined about how she was acting a bit weird the past few months and indirectly asked me to keep an eye on her. I didn''t know anything about this girl but as her father, the Lord must have been worried about her.


    Keeping an eye on her would be easy but if it was someone else who asked that, I wouldn''t bother with something that sounded so troublesome, but since it was the Lord''s request, I decided to do it, after all, I owe him a lot for what he did.


    As soon as I appeared, my father waved at me and my mother looked like she was about to cry.


    "This is the little girl that I told you about," I said pointing at Linda who was standing next and grabbing the edge of my clothes. She was wearing a robe to hide her wings and tails.


    I had already exined to Linda that she needed to stay here with my mother, and I didn''t know if she understood what I was saying, but at least, she didn''t act like a troublesome kid.


    "I see," my mother said, then she squatted down and looked at Linda''s eyes. After that, she reached her hand, showing her palm in front of Linda.


    My mother didn''t say anything and just had a tender expression on her face.


    "It''s fine," I said, patting Linda''s head.


    Hearing my words, Linda held my mother''s fingers awkwardly with her liitle hand and walked forward hesitantly.


    As far as physical appearance was concerned, I looked more like my mother than my father, but my mother was, for sure, more delicate and kinder than me.


    It seemed like Linda''s instinct told her that she was safe with my mother. Therefore, she was about to walk toward her, but then, she turned back and looked at me.


    "I will be back, and I hope you listen to her from now," I said, patting her on the head again.


    Then, my mother took Linda in her arms, treating her as if she was one of her children.


    Looking at this scene, I felt a little bit guilty lying about Linda''s origin and I knew that my mother would still ept her even though she knew the truth. However, I knew that she would discover the truth sooner orter, and before that happens, I needed to make sure that my theory about Linda was correct.


    In the first ce, I was putting my family at risk just by having Linda around them, and I could just lock her somewhere and observe her as a test subject, but if she did have the intelligence of a human, such a thing would make me worse than those monsters.


    It was, of course, a matter of morals and ideology but putting myself in her ce, I wouldn''t want something like that to happen to me. I still had some part of my humanity left, it seemed.


    Therefore, I entrusted her to my mother and looking at how Linda was smiling while looking at my sister, I could tell that she was not different that a little girl and I hoped that she continued to grow this way.


    "We will be watching your progress from here, but you need to know that we are proud of you," my father said. "Oh, I forgot. Take this letter and give it to the people who have this crest when you reach the Empire. Amelia and you will be received by the Raizel family when you reach the Empire."


    "I understand. Thank you for everything Dad. I love you both," I said.


    Hearing what I said, my parents got a little bit emotional and I had to listen to them telling me about the various things rted to their experiences in life for a while.


    After that, I walked toward the Lord and the people that were present there to send Amelia off.


    However, I remarked that nca was looking at me with weird eyes.


    "Is there something wrong?" I asked.


    She didn''t say anything and just shook her head slightly then an apathetic expression appeared on her face.


    People were looking at nca this whole time, but she was looking at my mother and my mother was looking at her.


    No wonder this was the case because nca looked like she was my mother''s cousin or something like that.


    But since no one asked, I also decided to not make anyment about it. Still, I could see that my mother looked like she had weird ideas again.<sub> </sub>


    "It''s not what you think, mom¡­" I mumbled.


    "Ah?! Cough! She is Cristal, right? She changed a lot since thest time I saw her," my mother said.


    "She just dyed her hair," I answered ending the conversation there.


    My father was holding my sister in his arms while sitting on top of his automated wheelchair, and he had this weird smile on his face for a while now. He must have been thinking something like, ''the son takes after his father even when ites to their taste in woman.''


    I ignored all of that and walked dignifiedly as I passed through the crowd then made my way to the Lord and his family.


    "Adam, you are finally here. Well, this is my daughter Amelia, and she will be going traveling with you. I hope you two can get along, hahaha," Lord Tylliard said and I could see that he was struggling to find the best way to handle his daughter.


    ''This girl¡­'' Looking at the girl called Amelia, I instantly felt something weird from her. ''Corruption¡­''


    Cristal talked about the Corruption while she told me about Pride''s story, and I had alreadye in contact with this Antiparticle. I called it this way because it was the exact opposite of primordial particles.


    "d to make your acquaintance," I said looking down at the girl in front of me.


    "I-" Without finishing her sentence, Amelia turned her back to me and rushed inside of the spaceship.


    I didn''t know the reason for her reaction of her but Lord Tylliard looked like he was embarrassed by his daughter''s attitude.


    "Sorry about that. As you can see, she has changed. She used to be a bright but calm girl," Lord Tylliard said in a sad tone. "That''s why I am worried that she might face a lot of problems if she passed the exams."


    "She is going through difficult times, we know, but she wouldn''t tell us about it¡­" His wife added.


    "I will keep an eye on her and give her a hand if it''s possible for me to do so," I answered.


    "Sorry about this. Now it sounds like I am asking you to be her guardians. Well, someday you might be one of the Guardians of the Empire if this continue, hahaha," Lord Tylliard continued, trying to change the mood with a light joke.


    "Guardians?" I was a bit curious about this title. I knew that there were a lot of strong people within the Empire, but for them to be given a title, they must have been exceptional.


    "You don''t know about them? To put it simply, these individuals are the pir of the Empire''s strength," Lord Tylliard said proudly. "Come to think of it, you will have the chance to meet all of the ten guardians this year. If you manage to impress them, you will certainly gain ess to the best that the Empire has to offer. If it''s you, I wouldn''t be surprised if you manage to do that."


    "I see. So Guardians are such important people. Thank you, I will remember that," I said. "But I am curious now, can everyone be a Guardian?"


    Hearing this fact, I knew it was time to change my ns. ''I wasn''t interested in bing the apprentice of a guardian. I needed the title because it would certainly give me ess to a lot of confidential information.''


    "Hahaha, you seem to be very ambitious but it would be hard to do that. Indeed, it is possible for everyone to be a Guardian, after all, the stronger the Guardians were, the safer the Empire would be against external threats, but it''s a little moreplicated. Well, you will learn about this soon enough," Lord Tylliard replied but then he realized that he was being talkative again.


    "Well, thank you again for everything you''ve done for me and my family. It''s time for us to go now," I said.


    Before leaving for real, I once again said goodbye to my parents and even though they were trying to send me off with smiles on their faces, in the end, they ended up crying.


    Lord Tylliard and his wife had also waved at the ship, shouting their daughter''s name, but Amelia had already shut herself inside her room.


    The spaceship finally left and our direction was the Empire''s capital. However, I had to adjust my n.


    "Here, change your outfit to this one. We are changing the n," I said to nca, handing her an elegant white costume. This time, instead of a skirt, she would be wearing a pair of elegant pants.


    "What are you talking about?" nca looked like she was not pleased by my words.


    "I will exin everything in detail but to put it simply, we discard the '' Prideful Young Lord'' character and adopt the ''Elite of the Elite'' one. I am going to be a Guardian," I said.

 Chapter 135 To The Heart Of The Empire (Part 3)

    "I am not your servant for you to boss around. What the hell are you trying to make me wear?" ncained.


    "Are you sure that you want me to exin the n in detail?" I replied, and nca nodded hesitantly after hearing my words. "Okay, sit there."


    Hearing the tone of my voice, nca didn''t argue back even though she was a little displeased. After she sat down, I began to talk about our goals and what we needed to do to reach them.


    There were three main objectives that we needed to achieve as fast as possible. First, we needed to locate the tree fragments that were surely somewhere within the Empire. Second, we needed to learn about the ones who control the Empire from the shadows, andstly, we needed to take care of the viins which should be rted to the previous individual.


    However, there were a lot of smaller objectives that needed to be achieved to reach the main ones. I also needed to choose the best method to take based on the information that I knew and my strength.


    Nevertheless, if I were to put it simply for nca, we needed to choose between a direct approach where I show off my power in contrast to an indirect approach where I hid it.


    "Here we have the indirect approach in which the acting would be something like a mob character or a perfectly average guy. And here, there is the direct approach if we want to adopt this approach we need to decide between acting like an arrogant young Lord and his maid or the elite of the elite," I said presenting my palms in front of nca, and of course, I didn''t expect her to understand something from what I said from just that, so I continued the exnation.


    There were of course a lot of other options, but considering that I would be attending the Holy Academy as a student, he became a little bit unrealistic and would draw unwanted attention.


    Nheless, I had also discarded the indirect approach after considering various things. First of all, there was a certain degree of difference in the effect of acting like an average guy and aplete mob character to the n.


    The indirect approach would indeed favor our ability to act undercover, but because of my standing, acting like an average guy would bring shame to the Raizel family and I would be probably subjected to a lot of discrimination.


    That was indeed taken into consideration and it could even be the perfect way to hide my true intentions, but I just didn''t like the idea and there was also another problem. Being able to act undercover didn''t mean that we would be able to ess a lot of information all of sudden, so consequently, the n itself would progress rather slowly depending on how things work in the Empire.


    There was Crystal, of course, and also nca who was a talented individual despite how she look when she wore a maid outfit, and I could also threaten some Lords or just impress them by showing off my power in secret, but the process itself would be troublesome. It would take a lot of time for us to achieve our main goal that way.


    ? After all, it would end up as a failure if I identally pulverize one of the arrogant young Lords who would certainly try to bully me to assert their dominance.


    Apart from that, it was also a question of pride, because I didn''t want my family''s name to be insulted after what happened.


    Of course, there were also other reasons, but most of them were rted to my personal preference so I didn''t mention them. All of that brought me to the young Lord act.


    The young Lord act was me acting above the average. A prideful young boy who had a lot of potentials but had a problematic character. Some people would indeed take advantage of me, but in my turn, I would take advantage of them to achieve my goals.


    The problem with this was, however, the fact that I would never be involved deeply with the Empire''s dark side, at least directly. I would be taken as an apprentice of one of the Guardians but since I couldn''t show off my power, I would be not able to surpass them, making them lose interest in me, and that was the n.


    Still, that would give me ess to not only some important information but also an opportunity to create some connections. I theorized that there was a faction that nned to overthrow the Emperor within it or some people who discovered the dark side of the Empire. Organizations like those always exist and I was convinced of that after thinking about how those hunters that visited our acted. And then, I would show off my power to force them to work with me.


    The difference between this approach and the average guy approach was just of course my standing on the surface, and also the fact that I would be able to ess some information and some ces more quickly. As long as I could go find those important locations, Cristal would be able to do a good job of collecting what I need.


    "Well, that''s what we were about to if I put it simply. I didn''t tell about the other details about the details of course, because they would change depending on the circumstances. And now, for example, we need to change the approach to the most difficult one. The elite of the elite," I continued, but nca looked at me as if she was an agriculturist that attended Einstein''s lecture about quantum physics.<sub> </sub>


    I began to exin the higher degree of direct approach. I could of coursee to the Empire and force whoever was pulling the strings in the shadow toe out and destroy them, resolving this whole mess, but that would be just temporary and I would need a lot of power to do that.


    Still, the fragments that would give me this power were somewhere within the Empire, at least, that was what I thought because there was someone who could destroy the world roaming around freely in there.


    Thus, I couldn''t choose this easiest method, but it was not like I couldn''t show off my power and take advantage of it.


    However, doing so would be difficult as I would be the center of the attention, or to be precise I needed to be the center of attention.


    I needed to show the Empire that they needed my strength, whether because they feared or they wanted to know more about it, but I shouldn''t antagonize them. That was why it was a little bit tricky, but if I manage to do things right, it would save me a lot of time.


    The acting needed to be real, and when people looked at me they needed to acknowledge that I was in another dimension than them. It was not just my strength, but my attitude, my look, charisma, voice, and intelligence.


    I needed to appear like someone that people couldn''t hate because they couldn''t find anything that they could hate about me.


    This would of course stir up a lot of theories, rumors, and a lot of attention but as long as I could show that I wasn''t the Empire''s enemy, it would be advantageous to mask my true attentions. After all, my background was already an advantage in itself, and also the existence of this so-called tinum generation. Thus, people would certainly be focused on the fact that I was one those new generations of gift holders, or to be precise their leader.


    The reason why I didn''t choose this approach first was of course because the high risk of failure which could lead to a lot other troublesome things. However, knowing that in theory, based on Lord Tylliard''s words, the Guardians were not just the Empire''s dogs, the advantages outweighed the drawbacks.


    Moreover, I didn''t know what the Raizel family expected from me but this approach would certainly give me a certain level of control over them, giving me the backup I needed to secure the seat of a guardian. Then, I would begin to scrutinize the Empire from its core.


    "That''s the goal, and of course, you will get closer to your goal too while helping me. There''s this fragment in the Empire but we don''t know how did it get here, thus it will be the key to finding a way for your sister. You know what I am talking about, right? You haven''t told me everything yet so I am just guessing," I said, but nca looked like she had a hard time keeping up with my exnation. She just looked like she was asking me why the hell was I doing all of that.


    Of course, she didn''t know about the threat posed by the viins, my desires, or the battle of gods that was still going on, and her goal was simply to find her sister, but she looked like she thought that I was just picking on her when I asked her to change her clothes so I just showed her that her clothes were part of the moreplicated n.


    Of course, the final goal for this was for me to be able to create a world in which I could finally focus on finding a good woman and also a world where my family and the people that I care about could live happily.


    After all, even if I didn''t do anything and just stayed put and tried to live a peaceful life, I would still be pulled inside of this mess. And there was also the fact that I liked the feeling of having overwhelming power, but of course, peaceful life and the path to the ultimate strength didn''t go well together.


    Thus, I needed to be strong first, to the point that I can create my own peaceful life. In the end, it was as simple as that.


    "Now, put this on," I said, and nca didn''t argue back anymore.


    I also adjusted my look and my posture. I made sure that every time I used my power, my hair would turn tinum and my eyes into something simr to a crystal. It had taken me a lot of time to be able to control the Antimatter, but the monsters'' core helped. Now, when my nullification power got an upgrade and I was able to do this.


    At least, there were some good things that I managed to acquire from that incident. Well, I would always use everything and anything to my benefit even though I didn''t show it.

 Chapter 136 To The Heart Of The Empire (Part 4)

    Indeed, my acting was just part of a bigger n because acting like I was devoted to the Empire would help me achieve my goals.


    However, it was an essential part of the n. After all, there were certainly strong individuals within the Empire, and even though I wasn''t in the least scared of them, taking them head-on would be just pure foolishness.


    The ''elite of the elite'' act would certainly attract a lot of attention, but at least I would not antagonize those people. And even if some butthurt Lord attacked me, it would give me an excuse to crush them one by one. That way, I would be able to determine the power bnce within the Empire, after all, only the fools would do such a thing and I would be able to narrow down the list of suspects, so I was killing two birds with one stone.


    This way I would lead the newer generation of gift holders, bing their representatives and their leader. Of course, I needed to appear as someone capable and charismatic, almost perfect, and doing such a thing was challenging.


    However, if I got the support of the tinum generation, and control some rebellious Lords in the shadow while holding the title of a Guardian, achieving my goals was just a matter of time. I would save the world, at least temporarily, obtain a tree fragment, and strengthen my standing in this world.


    If I could manage to use make use of the Empire''s vastwork of information, finding the other fragments would be easier as long they were in this universe.


    Well, thinking about it that way, it felt like I could take advantage of everything but honestly speaking, the n itself was more or less unrealistic and it depended solely on my ability to manipte people''s opinions of me.


    Half-assed acting would just make me appear like a clown, and if I were to be beaten down by a random Lord, everything would fall apart.


    The Young Lord act would be indeed easier, but I was not satisfied with my standing if I adopted that act, thus after a little bit of reconsideration, I decided to go for the hardest level.


    Acting like myself wouldn''t do the job, of course, because I know that sometimes I was how to say it, not stupid but my character is pretty inconsistent.


    However, while acting as an elite, a human that stood at the peak, a leader of the new generation, I needed to be constantly close to perfect. Just by looking at me, people should acknowledge that I was a true noble but instead of feeling scared, they should revere me.


    "Hahaha, this is just an insane thing to do, considering my background, but I would take it as a challenge. Theoretically, if I want to ascend to the next level of my existence, I would still need to stand at the peak of humanity, don''t I?" I mumbled, talking to myself as if I was some important individual. People wouldugh if they saw a fifteen years old kid sitting on a bench somewhere inside of a park and saying the words that I just said, but the way I was now, if I saw someone like that, I would probably believe them.


    "Like this?" nca mumbled and appeared in front of me wearing the white costume.


    "Mmm. You have a nice posture. Okay, raise your chin a little bit. Remember that you should never let someone look down on you from her, do you understand? You are an elite. Straighten your back. Yes, like this. And don''t let your hands wander aimlessly, be graceful and elegant even when moving them," I said, instructing nca about how she should handle herself. She was a fine woman, but she was also a warrior, so her movements were a little bit rough.


    Thus, I spend the next 2 hours exining to her how she should behave when she was with me.


    "Mmm. Perfect. Now you look like an Elite," I said, admiring nca''s improvement. Her beauty was one of her strongest points, but the costume enhanced her charms to the next level without making her look vulgar.


    "Okay, now I need to perfect my outfit too. The ck cape is a bit too rough for the image I want to portray," I mumbled. "Mmm? You can do that?"<sub> </sub>


    After hearing my words, the ck on the cape peeled off revealing a dark purple color adorned with a golden touch on the edges. It also became a little bit smaller and fit me perfectly. Well, the design itself changed, but it was still too shy for my taste.


    However, I needed to put away my personal preference for the time being and focus on creating an impact that the people in the Empire wouldn''t be able to forget.


    After that, I created a ck mirror with my power, and nca and I looked at ourselves.


    "This is how we should look. People should never doubt our ability and authenticity when they look at us. We are the Elite of the Elite, and the Empire should be thankful to have us in their ranks. No one should look down on us, but we also don''t look down on anyone, because we are already at the top and nothing would change that. Our goal is not to force people to acknowledge us, because we don''t need them to acknowledge us. They just need to ept the fact after seeing us, without being able to argue back, the fact we are above them in everything. We are not showing off our power needlessly because of such trivial things or to prove that we are superior, and we don''t ask people to revere us. Instead, people will feel safe when we are present, and our strength should make them feel strong, and in the end, they will kneel in front of us out of their own volition," I mumbled in a very calm but imposing voice.


    "What was that? You sounded creepy..." nca looked at me with weird eyes.


    "That''s the definition of the Elite of the Elite so refrain from showing this kind of expression in the future," I said, but I understand why nca found it funny when I said it that way.


    Being an Elite was easy for me the way I was now, but an Elite of the Elite was different. There were a lot of elites within the Empire, so trying to stand out from these bunch of elites without antagonizing the Empire and also without bing their dog would be hard even for me.


    By doing this, I would be challenging the Emperor itself, but that would also make the whole act more realistic. That was why, this was the most direct approach of all, and failure would lead to a lot of troublesome issues.


    Moreover, I needed to adjust the ns every time I learned new information to not let everything fall apart. The responsibilities that came with this acting were also real and I couldn''t take them lightly. For example, I couldn''t betray people''s expectations while I was in the Elite of the Elite mode.


    "I get why we are doing this, more or less, but I still don''t know what you are trying to achieve exactly," or so nca said, but I knew that she only cared about the part where I talked about her sister.


    "To put it simply, my goal is to be a being that can create a world in which monsters or other threats can''t harm my family and the people I care about, but my family would think such a world is weird if there''s no other humans around, so I would need to save the other humans along with them," I said in a calm and imposing manner without any doubt or hint of hesitation in my voice. I was already perfecting my character.


    "I don''t if I should even ask you anything anymore. The more you answer my questions, the more I think that you are talking nonsense, and the fact that you look like you are serious about it makes it more, how to say it, frightening?" nca mumbled.


    "Well, at least you understand that. Trust me, and in the end, you will see a new world. nca, there''s one thing you need to know and remember. There''s no room for failure. And If you think that you can betray me, I would consider you a failure. You see the end of this with me, or you die without me. Thus, this is yourst chance to turn back if you want to," I said.


    "I am already here. Do I look like I want to go back? I will find my sister and the truth behind that incident," nca said, and then she appeared like she was taking her character more seriously.


    "Let''s do this. There''s no turning back," I said.


    Of course, I was not taking things lightly and even though I decided to do things in the way I wanted them, it was by no means because I was joking around.

 Chapter 137 To The Heart Of The Empire (Part 5)

    The details I shared with nca were just part of the easiest aspect of the n because if seen from a different point of view, what I was about to do was just taking advantage of my knowledge and my power to raise to the top of the world like any reincarnated person who was not utterly dumb.


    Indeed, this was the easiest part even though I needed to put real effort into it. Well, other reincarnated fellows managed to do it so why wouldn''t I? Well, even though they were fictional characters, there was this theory that people''s dreams were a fragment of their memories from different universes so maybe, these ''isekai'' protagonists exist somewhere.


    Well, to a certain point, everything should be more or less within my capabilities and I could adjust my acting as we progress into the heart of the Empire, but the real issuey elsewhere.


    nca didn''t need to know about this, of course, because it was enough for her to know about the main goals for now.


    There were at least five main issues that needed to be taken care of with utmost caution and cleverness. Added to that were a few unpredictable variables that must keep my eyes on and readjust my n ording to the development of the situation.


    The acting was just a facade but it shouldn''t be taken half-assedly, however, it was just a detail rted to a bigger issue. Yes, the acting was rted to the issue that I called the Holy Church''s shadow. There was also the Empire''s True face, the Unknown dweller, the Viiness, and the Secret Invasion.


    All of these issues were rted to each other but they needed to be taken care of at the same time as the execution of the n progressed.


    For example, to take care of the issue of Empire''s True Face, I needed to explore the Holy Church''s shadow. The same with the three other issues, but that must be done while taking care of the unpredictable variables such as the Raizel family, Liu''s family, the Guardians, the other top students, the other influential Lords, etc¡­


    In other words, everything that could affect the n even though they were just temporary issues. They were unpredictable because I didn''t have enough information on my hand.


    Moreover, I was being a bit optimistic and hoped that incidents like what happened to our wouldn''t happen often because even though I might be able to adjust the n, there was no telling when I would miss some details when something like those happen.


    In addition to this, I knew that the unknown being was not interfering directly with the course of things until now, but the possibility for him to change his mind was not low. Thus, I needed to think about a way to tackle this eventuality, but even though I wasn''t scared of facing this existence, I was not yet strong enough to handle them.


    Thinking about all of that, I imagined an on option where I just go with the flow because it might have been easy to just face my enemies head-on and just rush ahead, but even if I seed while doing that in the end, it wouldn''t be funny if I was the only who made it to the world that I nned to create, I couldn''t even imagine what I would feel. This was also the reason why I left some of the upgraded versions of Cristal''s clone with my parents. With those, my parents would survive even if a gigantic octopus appeared again.


    "Come to think of it, we also need to do something about that girl," I mumbled.


    "Are you talking about that brown haired-girl? And I''ve been wondering about this for a while now, but how old are you?" nca and she returned to her usual self every time she spoke. Well, I didn''t expect her to y the character perfectly all of sudden, but I knew that I shouldn''t let her speak too much from there.


    "I will leave that to your imagination. Well, even though that girl''s presence isn''t necessary to our n, she could also be troublesome in many ways if not handled carefully. I owe Lord Tylliard a huge deal too, so this is the least I can do," I said, thinking about t few methods to handle Amelia.


    "What exactly are you going to do? You are not the best at dealing with women, at least I can tell you that," nca remarked.


    "Well, aren''t you showing your true character now? You are rather cute despite the image that you try to portray. Of course, I just wanted to know that too," I replied.


    Hearing my words, nca didn''t show any excessive reaction but she also didn''t say anything.


    "Try to work on your walking and standing posture, I will go see her for a bit," I said, then I left the room and began to explore the ship.


    The ship itself could be considered a high-ss vessel, and it was equipped with a lot of facilities that would make most of the five stars on Earth look cheap.


    "So where''s her room, Cristal?"


    "You need to reach the stair at the end of the hallway and the room is right up that stair," Cristal said.<sub> </sub>


    "So she gets treated as an extremely special person huh? She has a whole floor for her alone," I mumbled.


    It seemed like Lord Tylliard was trying to give Amelia a veryfortable life, but it seemed like she got too used to living that way so in the end she forgot about her privileges and treated it as normal.


    In the end, even giving her such a high-quality life didn''t solve her issues and the Lord appeared to have run out of ideas.


    As for me, I knew that just the fact that there was a trace of corruption emanating from her already gave a general idea of what could be her problem.


    Still, it was not like I will help her out of kindness or anything. I would allow her to ask for help though, but even if she didn''t ask for help, I needed her to understand that she was being a pain to everyone around her.


    Thus, if she thought that she could deal with her problem alone, she should also be able to do something about her attitude. After all, treating her like she was a kid or lecturing her wouldn''t do anything well.


    "Is this the room?" I stood in front of the door of Amelia''s room.


    "Yes, it seems to be locked," Cristalmented.


    "Amelia, it''s me, Adam. I am going in," I said, opening the locked door easily.


    "What, Why are you here?! Go away!" Amelia shouted. She looked like she was tired of wearing an expensive dress because her clothes were simr to what could be considered pajamas, and her hair was anything else but beautifully tidied like a nobledy''s hair should have been. In other words, she looked shabby and looking at her face, I could see that she didn''t spend thest few hours sleep.


    "Why should I do that? I just came here," I said.


    "What? Guard! Guard!" Amelia shouted but Cristal''s abilities were not something to scoff at when it came to the total confinement of a room.


    Ignoring the shouting girl in front of me, I took a chair nearby and sat dignifiedly on it while crossing my legs.


    "You see, if you didn''t cause any problem for anyone, I would have left you alone. And you look smart enough to understand that your behavior is causing a lot of unnecessary worries to your family. So here''s the question, are you just being a pain for everyone out of pure selfishness, or are you trying your best to deal with whatever issue you have but still need help? I will of course deal with you if you are just being a, forgive me for thenguage that I am going to employ, shitty brat," I said.


    "What? What are you talking about? I will not tolerate this any longer," Amelia stood up and tried to exit the room.


    "I asked a question. Are you incapable of holding a conversation like a normal human? Do you need help or not?" I said in a calm but imposing voice, and my hair waved unnaturally while turning a little bit grayish.


    Amelia stopped when she heard the tone of my voice, and it looked like she was frightened. Scaring was not my goal so I surprised my aura.


    "I¡­ Leave alone," she mumbled in a low voice.


    "Okay, I will leave you alone but only if you stop behaving like a spoiled child and act like the properdy who is about to attend the Holy Academy. Asking for help when needed isn''t a weakness because you need a certain level of determination to admit your ws. However, if you think that you can manage and you don''t cause problems for the people around you, I will acknowledge that you can handle your problems alone but I won''t tolerate such behavior from now because it would make me look bad if people saw me with you while you act that way. It would taint my family''s name and my pride. I don''t know how you feel about your parents, your family, or your pride, but I care about mine. Do you understand?" I said in a very gentle voice which was not my


    "O-okay¡­" Amelia looked surprised by what I said.


    "Okay. Talk to me if you can''t bear it anymore. I am familiar with certain things," I said, then left Amelia''s room.

 Chapter 138 To The Heart Of The Empire (Part 6)

    :::[Third Person POV]:::


    All of the active personnel inside the spaceship with which Adam, Amelia, and nca traveled in were all professional and loyal to their Lord.


    Their task was to make sure that Amelia the Lord''s daughter and their guest Adam would have stress free trip, arriving safely at the main of the Raizel family.


    The Lord talked to the captain himself and asked him not as a Lord but as a father to make sure that his daughter could take the Academy''s test in good health.


    "Captain,dy Amelia refuses to eat. She wouldn''t open the door of her room," a mature-looking woman wearing an elegant maid outfit and had her hairs tied into buns reported to the Captain.


    Hearing the maid''s words, the Captain frowned as if he was thinking deeply about what to say next. His Lord had indeed tasked him to take care of his daughter but he didn''t know what to do about such a problematic kid.


    He was also afraid of upsetting Amelia which would make thingsplicated as he knew that the Lord dotted his daughter too much.


    The captain sighed. "Okay, I will go talk to her," he mumbled and everyone inside forpartments sympathized with him.


    These past few months, Amelia''s attitude caused a lot of trouble not only for her parents but for everyone in her surroundings. Still, these people knew that Amelia wasn''t like that before so they assumed that she was going through some kind of phase.


    Unable to say anything, the maids and the other people working under the Tylliard family had to put up with Amelia''s problematic attitude but as time passed by, it became harder for them to deal with her.


    ''How should I even deal with her when I don''t even have a daughter? I can''t even imagine what''s going through her mind at times like this,'' the Captain thought to himself as he made his way toward Amelia''s room with a hard face.


    The maids that followed him from behind didn''t say anything but their feelings were written all over their faces.


    Of course, they would put on bright smiles when they were in front of Amelia because it was their duty to do so.


    No matter what Amelia did, they couldn''t scold her and despite all that, some of them cared about Amelia. They remembered how much of a good girl she was before.


    "Mm?" The Captain was suddenly surprised, looking at the silhouette of the individual who passed by the corner leading to Amelia''s room.


    "That was Lord Julius'' son, right? Is he heading towarddy Amelia''s room?" One of the four maids asked as if confirming if they all saw the same thing.


    "..." The Captain didn''t say anything and just increased his pace, however, they could only see Adam''s silhouette entering Amelia''s room after arriving upstairs.


    "She let her in?" One of the maidsmented and three other maids looked as surprised as her.


    The captain, though, frowned after seeing what happened. He was concerned about the fact that two young people of different genders were now inside of a room alone.


    From what he could see, Adam appeared to be a good man but he didn''t know what he was trying to do by visiting Amelia inside of her room.


    Tok! Tok! Tok!


    "Lady Amelia, please open the door!" The captain knocked on the door multiple times but there was no answer. He couldn''t even hear anything from inside the room.


    He continued to call out Amelia''s name for a while but no matter how many times he tried, he couldn''t get a response from her.


    Thinking that something weird must be happening, the Captain decided to force the door.


    "Move back, I will use my power to open the door," the Captain said and the maids nodded at his words.


    However, when the captain was about to gather the primordial particles inside his fist, he noticed there was something wrong.


    ''What''s going on? I can''t move.'' The captain was confused because he never experienced such a thing before.


    The maids were also puzzled after seeing the captain standing in front of them without moving.


    But when they were about to ask the captain, the door opened and a young man came out of the room.<sub> </sub>


    Adam closed the door slowly in a very neat way and stood dignifiedly in front of the captain.


    "From what I can see, it appears that you have some issues handling ourdy. Let me answer your questions," Adam said in a deep and imposing voice that was mysteriously pleasant to listen to. Moreover, even though the captain didn''t ask anything, Adam looked like he already knew what he was thinking.


    Looking at him, the maids could only hold their breath as his red crimson eyes looked down at them.


    "Lord Tylliard personally asked me to discuss with Amelia and help her if needed. This is why I am here, and also because I am one of the few people that can understand what she is going through despite not being close to her. This is all you need to know since everything else is personal, and I will make sure that it stays that way unless Amelia decides otherwise," Adam said, then he deactivated his power.


    By saying this, Adam made a point and everything that had happened appeared to be proving his point.


    The Captain and the maids were confused by Adam''s words but he immediately moved to the next topic.


    "We will be having a proper dinner today. Amelia will be eating with me, so it would help if you include her favorite dish. I am sure you know what she enjoys. We wille to the dining area in thirty minutes, so could you prepare a table for us?" Adam continued without letting the captain or the maids interrupt him.


    His presence was imposing but it wasn''t like he was using some kind of threat. It was his attitude, his voice, and also the mystery around him that made the captain and the maids feel like they were in front of a Lord.


    Since Adam began to talk, the thought that they were talking to someone who was the same age as Amelia didn''t even cross their mind.


    Still, the captain had some doubts, looking at Adam who appeared to be a Lord.


    "Do I look like the kind of person that would do something as despicable as toy a finger on Amelia?" Adam asked this question while looking the captain directly in the eyes.


    The captain immediately felt the pressure of Adam''s aura and understood that Adam wouldn''t even need to lift his finger to kill him.


    That was not of course Adam''s intention, but for low-level gift holders and giftless people, his presence alone would make them feel pressured even if he wasn''t acting.


    Adam was tall and his muscles were perfectly bnced as they supported his body, giving him the ability to stand in a perfectly dignified and imposing manner when facing someone.


    "No, Lord Adam. We will prepare your dinner," the captain said, knowing that a person like Adam wouldn''t even care about someone as problematic as Amelia if it wasn''t for the Lord''s request.


    "I appreciate that," Adam said and looked at the captain and the maids walking away then he entered Amelia''s room again.


    "I believe you heard that. I said that I would leave you alone if your behavior didn''t bother anyone, but it looked like these people were having a hard time because of you. I wouldn''t want the Raizel family to see such a thing," Adam said, and he based his deduction on the fact that smart people always observed the behavior of the personnel working under a certain someone to gather a lot of information about them.


    "What? Why is that your problem?" Amelia retorted.


    "Don''t get me wrong. Like you, I only care about myself most of the time but I make sure that my actions don''t cause problems for other people because that would make me look bad, and I don''t want people to look down on me because I care about myself. What about you? Do you not have any self-respect? Well, you can answer that question alone, but for now, dress up, we are going to have a proper dinner," Adam continued.


    "What? And who is she? When did she appear here?"


    "I can do a lot of things that you can''t even imagine. Her name is Cristal, she will help you dress up. If you want to be left alone, make sure that you do it elegantly like a nobledy. I will be waiting outside," Adam said and left the room.


    "Who are you? Hey, don''t touch me. I am not going anywhere." Amelia began to struggle as Cristal tried to take off her clothes.


    However, two of Cristal''s clones appeared and began to hold her down.


    Amelia continued to scream and cry like a literal child, but the apathetic look on Cristal''s face didn''t change.


    "Master, you can enter now," Cristal said after a while.


    "If you think that what I am doing is bad, then you need to remember that your mother was crying. And if you don''t feel anything after hearing that, then I will need to deal with you more seriously," Adam said and reached his hand in front of Amelia in an elegant manner.


    He was, of course, referring to the fact that the corruption might have affected Amelia''s mind when he said thatst sentence, which would make things more troublesome.

 Chapter 139 To The Heart Of The Empire (Part 7)

    After meeting up with nca, Adam headed to the dining area while escorting Amelia.


    A table was already prepared for them and a few maids, a chef, and other personnel were waiting for their arrival.


    "Act like a proper noble. These people respect and care about you so don''t disappoint them," Adam muttered to Amelia, but she didn''t appear in the least pleased by what was happening.


    After they were seated, the chef asked them about what they would like to have for dinner and began to give some details about the dishes that he prepared.


    Adam chose what he would like to eat as rmended by the chief, but Amelia acted like a problematic child again, sitting in an extremely vulgar way and supporting her head with her palm while putting her elbow on the table.


    "Amelia, I hope you remember what we discussed earlier¡­" Adam reminded her after seeing her behavior.


    "Anh? Hmph!" Amelia sneered as if saying that Adam couldn''t do anything to her in front of these people so she would act the way she wanted.


    Adam knew that the Corruption had something to do with her behavior but she was just so irritating to look at. Thus, he had even thought about the possibility that Amelia was just in some kind of rebellious phase.


    The chef appeared to not know what to do after looking at Amelia.


    "She will be having the same thing as me," Adam said to the chef.


    The chef hesitated a little bit but seeing Adam''s face, he immediately nodded to the request.


    "What? I¡­. Waaaaa? What is this?" Amelia felt something cold touching her body, then wrapped around her hips, her neck, arms, and legs.


    Suddenly, she was sitting straight in a very awkward manner but at least, it was better than her previous posture.


    "You didn''t give me the choice. Unfortunately, I am not the type of man who likes to have dinner with a, forgive me for thenguage I am going to employ, shitty brat," Adam said, sitting elegantly in front of Amelia.


    nca didn''t say anything but by doing so, she looked like the Lord''s wife. There was no trace of her rough attitude or warrior''s aura, and she gave off a refined and almost exotic vibe.


    Looking at Adam and nca the ship''s personnel were struck by awe and they couldn''t help but admire what they were seeing. Two extremely beautiful people with noble aura, and graceful attitudes but have a very authoritative presence.


    Compared to them, their Lady looked like some kind ofmoner whockedmon sense and this made them feel a little bit ashamed.


    Consequently, for the Lord to ask Adam to watch over his daughter made sense, and even though they didn''t hear what Adam and Amelia were discussing, they could see that Amelia was acting a bit more like a noble.


    "Hey! Guard! I will tell my father about this¡­" Amelia began to scream but she couldn''t move.


    "Now, I am seriously wondering about your problem. The question is, why do you keep acting the way you do despite knowing that you are being a bother to everyone else? Okay, let''s solve this mystery right here," Adam continued. "Don''t worry, no one will know about what I will discover here today."


    "I refuse to talk to you. You can''t force me to say anything," Amelia said.


    "Mmm? Ah, well, I don''t need you to say anything in the first ce. I am just talking to myself," Adam muttered, ignoring Amelia''s reaction.


    Soon, the chef came with the food and the maids helped him to set up the table.


    "Enjoy your meal," the chef said and bowed respectfully.<sub> </sub>


    "Thank you," Adam said.


    After that, Adam began to taste the food and his expression showed that it was good.


    "If you eat this kind of meal every day, I doubt your problem is rted to your lifestyle. Also, your parents aren''t the kind of people who would force their ideals or dreams upon you. They treat you well, love you, and care about you. Your entourage also cares about you too, and despite your problematic attitude, they still hope that you will mature and realize on your own that you are being a pain to everyone. In other words, you have a wonderful family and grew up in a very positive environment."


    Adam stopped eating and looked at Amelia who refused to eat anything at all.


    "So why are you like this?" He pointed out. "I have a few theories, but I hope that most of them are not true. From what I could observe, however, you are probably trying at the same time to hide something and to request help because what is happening to you is not something you can just discuss with anyone. This is the theory that I prefer to be true because if the reason for this is something else, then I would need to treat you differently based on your intentions."


    Amelia still refused to take part in the conversation but what Adam said made her frown for a bit.


    "Let''s go to with this theory for now and figure out what you are trying to hide. Your father said that you were looking forward to attending the Holy Academy and it''s not an exaggeration to say that this is your long cherished dream. Thus, unless you have changed your mind and decided to adopt a very problematic attitude just because you felt like rebelling, you would not want to discard all of your efforts so that you will fail the test, make fool of yourself, tarnish the name your family, and turn into aplete failure. I truly hope that this is not the case," Adam proceeded with his deduction.


    "Considering all of that, the problem could be an external factor, for example, a person, an event, but it can also be an internal factor, like a change in your body or your gift. Oh, you can''t use your gift when you are close to me, so that''s not the problem. So, I am wondering, which of these are the reasons? Or can it be also all of those? Still, looking at you, I can tell that there''s an external factor behind this, and it seems that you deemed yourself, who was somehow affected by this external factor, dangerous if other people came in contact with you, thus, you adopted this attitude even though it might ruin your entire life."


    Listening to Adam Amelia''s eyes widened, and it looked like she was trying to say something but restrained herself.


    "I will stop here for today, and as you can see, whatever is happening to you or can happen if I am close to you, it doesn''t affect me. Everything that we discussed here won''t leave this room. Now eat, you are safe," Adam added.


    Adam couldn''t determine the exact reason behind Amelia''s behavior but it appeared like she didn''t know what else to do, and what was happening was serious so even if she had to discard away everything, she wanted to keep it for herself.


    Adam knew that if he helped her out of the blue, it mightplicate things as he didn''t have enough information as to how the Corruption managed to reach Amelia.


    ''Lord Tylliar said that she began to act weird a few months ago, but she only visited our before this and never traveled somewhere else before. Crustal made sure to explore the whole city and search for threats that might bring harm to my family, but there was nothing suspicious, so the origin wasn''t on their,'' Adam thought to himself.


    After connecting the dots, Adam realized that something happened to her while she was visiting his. And searching through his memory he remembered a girl the day after theing of age ceremony incident.


    Trying to dig deeper, he remembered what Pride said about how some people were observing him, and also about the letter that Josephine wrote, describing a certain that supposedly knew everything.


    Now, the question was, why did this being targeted, Amelia? Still, thinking about this, Adam knew that there were extremely strong beings in this world, and if Pride didn''t use his authority to erase the time in which the event of Adam''s sudden transformation happened from people''s minds, things wouldn''t have ended up the way it did.


    "Tell me, what exactly is your gift? Everything led me to think that it''s the cause of all of this."


    This time, Amelia couldn''t keep up with her act anymore and said something.


    "You¡­ You should have stayed away from me," Amelia said, then she stood up and walked away, but her behavior and her expression had changed.


    Adam looked at Amelia as she exited the room and wondered if what was happening could be more serious than he thought.


    Unexpectedly, he saw a link between what was happening to Amelia and the one who dwelled behind the Empire.


    ''This is bad¡­ Your daughter had stepped into a dangerous territory, Lord Tylliard," Adam thought to himself.


    The ship would arrive on the under the jurisdiction of the Raizel family in a couple of hours but Adam had already begun to adjust his n again.

 Chapter 140 Arrival

    The Raizels were once one the most influential people in the Empire but after the current Emperor came into power, their influence had decreased and even though they stayed in the top hundred of the most influential family, their fall was apparent.


    However, when Redmond Von Raizel came into power, the Raizel family was on the rise once again.


    Redmond was a clever person and as the head of the family, he quickly understood that there was something unusual about the course of events that happened in thest few years but he also knew that he could take advantage of it.


    This was the chance for the Raizel family to stand at the top again but it was also a challenging task.


    Redmond''s first goal was to gatherpetent people, nurture them, and ce them within the Empire to increase his influence from the inside.


    ? Nevertheless, all of the influential Lords would have already thought about such a thing.


    Thus, Redmond needed someone special that could lead all of the talents that he nurtured. In other words, he was investing in the new generation.


    Redmond knew that a new age wasing and the emergence of the tinum generation confirmed his theory.


    Still, the other Lords would have already taken this into ount too, so everything was just a matter of luck and dedication. Finding rare talented people and strong gift holders needed a lot of time, and sometimes a Lord would be lucky to have 2 of such people within their territory.


    Consequently, the Holy Academy''s test was a battleground for the Lords and it would decide who would lead the Empire in the future.


    Redmond gathered many talents from within his territories and they were all gathered together on the main of the Raizel family.


    "Are you sure that your brother''s son wille? I heard he just experienced some pretty traumatic experiences. I am not sure if the kid is alright considering that he''d already peed his pants during hising to age ceremony," a woman in her thirties looked at Redmond and said these words. She was tall and wasn''t wearing a dress like most of the noble women, but a modern-looking purple outfit.


    Her chrome-colored hair waved beautifully under the gentle wind as she gazed at the spaceships arriving one by one at the spacious airfield. Her gaze was intense and she would find it rude if someone said it to her, but her face was too handsome for a woman''s, and her body curves suggested that she wasn''t a tender princess.


    "He wille. I only judge people after seeing them, and since he ising, we will see what kind of person he is," Redmond replied. "But, has anyone caught your attention, Urie?"


    "Yeah, a few. Anyway, you just want to see your nephew, don''t you? Julius is quite a weird fellow too, letting his sone here like this after what happened." Urie knew that Redmond tried to change the topic but she was always curious about the deal between Redmond and his brother Julius.


    "My brother is good, and he chose to honor the promise he made to a single woman. His son, on the other hand, doesn''t have anything to do with the promise he made, and my nephew can certainly decide for himself. Even Julius must have understood that he couldn''t keep him from going and discovering the world."


    Redmond was referring to the fact that Adam went missing while he was not with his parents, so he concluded that Adam must have gone somewhere alone when the incident happened.


    He had of course helped Julius during thest few months, and he was also aware of his brother''s injury. But Julius had taken a decision, so Redmond stayed neutral and only helped his brother as a good Lord would have done.


    "Well, I can''t say I am a fan of what your brother did, but at least he assumed the responsibilities for his decision," Urie said as both of them continued to observe the young people who disembarked from the various spaceships. "Well, I look forward to seeing what kind of person his kid had be. You seem to expect great things from this kid, though. Don''t tell me that you want to give him that role?"


    "As I said, I only judge people after meeting them and observing their abilities. Although, I do hope that it is someone from the family who would lead this new generation. The Empire is starting to copse from the interior and such a thing must be prevented for many costs. Else, there will be no family to worry about," Raizel answered.


    "That again? I say that you worry too much. The new Emperor is doing a good job."


    "If what you said is indeed true, then I would not be standing here and would have spent more time with my wife and daughter. Unfortunately, I can''t sleep at night because the more I care about my family, the more things appear uncertain."


    "Well, I don''t know. Maybe you are just too sensitive. You should really take some break and go somewhere with your family after this is over," Urie said and despite her intimidating attitude, it was clear that she was a friend who cared about Redmond.<sub> </sub>


    In fact, Redmond and Urie have known each other since they were children.


    "Do I look that tired?" Redmond massaged his temple. "You are right, maybe I need some time off."


    Handling all of the issues rted to the Raizel family and their territory took a toll on Redmond because unlike other ipetent Lords, he took everything seriously. Like Julius, Redmond was also dedicated to his duties.


    "It seems like almost all of them are here. Only the Tylliard family hasn''t arrived yet, along with your nephew," Uriemented.


    "Well, that''s understandable considering everything that had happened. I am even surprised that Adam himself agreed toe here. That already tells a lot about his character but we will see."


    *****


    The young people who arrived from different spaceships were gathered in a spacious area.


    "Greeting to y''all!" Urie''s voice was amplified by a microphone and managed to grab everyone''s attention.


    Some of the young people that were gathered there knew each other so groups began to form as no one wanted to feel left out. However, Urie''s voice made them all look toward the woman standing on top of something in front of them.


    They were all Lord''s children so they expected to be received more formally, so after seeing Urie, they began to chatter among themselves.


    "What makes you a noble? Money? Power? Knowledge? Of course, all of those are necessary, but in this world, these aren''t enough. So from here, you will discover what else makes you a truly noble," after saying that, Urie snapped her fingers and then a few high-level gift holders appeared.


    "First of all, you need to have discipline. Form a ten line!" Urie ordered but the young people looked confused.


    Seeing Urie snap her finger and the high-level gift holders unleashed their aura.


    "Think about this, are you a noble and act as noble because you are just scared? If so, then you can leave now. A noble who doesn''t have any discipline and doesn''t acknowledge the hierarchy of power isn''t a noble but something worse than a ve. Everything works because there is a hierarchy of power, and just imagine when someday you raise to the top but those under you don''t respect this hierarchy of power. Chaos! Without respect and discipline, only chaos reign, and we don''t need that here." Urie continued.


    "You, you, and you leave immediately we don''t need you here. These people were just there to test your ability to act like a noble," Urie pointed to three young boys who unleashed their power after seeing the high-level gift holders.


    "What? I won''t ept this..."


    "You were threatening us!"


    Hearing Urie''s words, the young boys began toin.


    "Are you implying that you have already deduced the identity of these people? As nobles, what is the first thing you should have done in a situation like this? Return home and find answer the answer to these questions!"


    Seeing what happened, everyone else lined up immediately even though they didn''t really understand what Urie was trying to achieve.


    "I am aware that you grew up in a world in which you thought you were at the top, but here you are at the bottom of the hierarchy. These people are not wearing fancy clothes, but they are above you in everything. Now, look at them again, what make them nobles? From here, you are going to be divided into a group of ten, and will work under one of them. Before the test begins, you need to understand what exactly is at stake here," Urie continued.


    However, after she finished saying these words, something else draw everyone''s attention.

 Chapter 141 Arrival (Part 2)

    Everyone looked up to the spaceship who was about tond on the airfield. Various thoughts came to their mind but no one said anything, knowing that Urie wouldn''t certainly tolerate such behavior.


    However, Urie herself had her eyes glued on the ship''s main entrance as it opened slowly.


    She was quite interested in seeing what Redmond''s nephew looked like, and she wasn''t about to treat Adam differently just because he was somehow rted to the Raizel family.


    ''Redy seems to have a bit too many expectations for this brat but I will not make any exception for him. He gotta work to the bones to prove his worth.'' These thoughts crossed Urie''s mind while waiting for Adam to show up.


    Unlike Urie, everyone else wondered to which family the crest engraved on the ship belonged. Still, they were not going to be weed nicely no matter who they were, or so everyone thought, remembering what just happened.


    Pshhhhh!


    White smoke escaped from within the ship as the main door opened, and suddenly a silhouette appeared.


    <o>,m A tall man with soft ebony hair looked down at the people below him with red crimson eyes. His stature was without a doubt a ruler''s and his attire was of an undeniable noblesse: a mixture of white, gold, and dark purple.</o>


    After that, another person appeared and stood next to him. Once again, everyone was taken by awe as to how beautiful the second individual was.


    A woman with long ebony hair and also red crimson hair. Her skin was as pale as snow but by no means had she looked lifeless, on the contrary, despite not showing any readable expression on her face, her presence was not weaker than the first individual''s.


    Then, another person appeared but unlike the two first individuals, this one looked like amon lord''s daughter.


    Just like that, Adam, nca, and Amelia arrived safely on the main of Raizel''s family.


    After that, nca walked elegantly, as if leading the other person that came along with them, and walked towards the area where the other attendants were gathered.


    Seeing this, Adam also began to float in the air, and using his power, he created a t ck square under Amelia.


    "Waaa!" Not understanding what was happening, Amelia almost tripped.


    Adam didn''t even look back at her and using his power to bring her to the ce where everyone else was gathered in such was already something that Amelia should be thankful for.


    Nheless, Adam didn''t just join everyone else like Amelia instead, he approached Urie and floated in front of her, looking down at her.


    "Greetings, my name is Adam Von Kepalta, son of Julius Von Kepalta. My father informed me about the presence of someone to whom this letter should be given. Should I assume that the person he mentioned is you, or should I look for someone else?"


    Adam put the letter on top of a ck square and then it drifted toward Urie.


    The other young people had various expressions on their faces after seeing what Adam was doing, and not only them, even the ten high-level gift holders who were present there looked astounded.


    This was to be expected considering that Adam didn''t even touch the ground since his arrival and even though no one could feel his gift being activated, he was certainly using his gift to control the weird ck metals.


    ''This kid...'' Even Urie was taken by surprise and even though she was a high-level gift holder herself, she couldn''t figure out what exactly Adam''s abilities were.


    Moreover, the person in front of her was nothing like the young people who stood below him.


    Still, Urie couldn''t let Adam didn''t enjoy how Adam talked to her. She felt like he didn''t even treat her as someone relevant, and Adam looked like he expected her to escort him to Redmond.


    "Indeed, I am the one but-"


    "Good. Now as a Lord, I must go greet my uncle. Could you lead me to where he is?"


    Before Urie could even say anything, Adam had already started his intentions while making sure that unless Urie was a noble, he didn''t have anything to say to her.


    This had of course displeased Urie because not a while ago, she appeared to have dominated the atmosphere.


    "Hey kid, you should learn some manner and know your ce," Urie said intimidatingly.


    "Looking at you, I can tell that you are a pretty important person, but you are not my uncle''s wife, are you?  Moreover, everyone present her isn''t a Lord. Yet when you saw meing, you didn''t even act ordingly to your status, and I even had to begin the conversation. Are making fool of me?" Adam said imposingly, and suddenly everyone felt a suffocating pressure.<sub> </sub>


    Adam was now officially the Lord of Kepalta and despite how he looked, intended to not let anyone make fun of him or his title just because he was young.


    His circumstances were indeed unusual and he was probably the youngest Lord in the Empire''s history.


    "You? A Lor-"


    "Urie!"


    Before Urie could finish the sentence, Redmond called out her name. Soon, Redmond appeared from inside one of the buildings.


    "He is Adam Von Kepalta, the Lord of Kepalta. You should treat him with respect," Remond continued in a serious tone.


    Seeing Redmond, Adam finallynded on the ground and greeted Redmond respectfully.


    "I express my sincere gratitude for everything you have done, Lord Raizel. I am Adam Von Kepalta, son of Julius Von Kepalta, and currently, the one who holds the title of Lord after my father bestowed upon the title."


    "Yes, I know. You don''t need to be so formal. I''ve been waiting for your arrival. Let''s discuss inside," Redmond said and asked Adam to follow him.


    "Certainly," Adam replied, and then a t ck square appeared below nca bringing her to Adam''s side.


    After they left, everyone else looked confused but Urie quickly took control again and then began to exin various things.


    Amelia looked confused seeing what was happening and the fact that she was left behind along with everyone else.


    *****


    After sittingfortably inside a luxurious room, Adam was finally satisfied by how he was weed. He hadn''t, of course, overstepped his boundaries and showed respect to Redmond and didn''t show any unpleasant attitude that someone who was blinded by power would show.


    Then, Redmond began to ask about Adam and his family''s situation. To this, Adam began to tell him about the events that seeded hising of age ceremony.


    "That''s indeed a pretty awful experience. I am d to see at least, you didn''t give up and decided to move forward and face the world," Redmond said after hearing Adam''s story.


    "Thanks for giving me this chance, uncle Redmond," Adam said respectfully.


    Redmond asked him to refer to him as uncle because they were family despite old problems, or so he exined, but Adam didn''t even feel ufortable calling Redmond uncle.


    It wasn''t because he was acting, but after talking to Redmond for a few minutes, he could tell that Redmond was pretty simr to his father in a lot of ways.


    Adam didn''t expect this, and he was prepared to face a maniptive individual who would do anything to achieve their goal.


    "Well, forgive Urie. Young people nowadaysck discipline and they also need to be prepared for the uing test that will take ce in two days," Redmond added.


    "I was informed that the test will be divided into two parts. I am certain to do well with the first test which is rted to my knowledge, but I wondering about the second test. Uncle, do you have more information about this second test?"


    "I am really impressed! I didn''t expect that my nephew would be this impressive. Even your father wasn''t as outstanding as how you look at his age," Redmond said, looking like he was genuinely impressed with Adam as a person.


    "Well, concerning the second test. It would be also divided into two parts. The first part would be done in the old way. I am not in favor of this one, to be honest, but you have to face other pupils. You need to win two times before you can move to the second part of the test."


    Redmond looked like he disliked the method adopted to test the new students. There was nothing like this before, and the students were asked to just disy their ability by fighting dummy monsters.


    "In the second part of the test, you will be put in a group where the members would be chosen at random. Your goal is to be the first to reach the exit as you will be put inside of a special dungeon-like space, filled with traps and monsters. Honestly, I don''t see the point of all of this but they said that this was to show the world the power of the new generation."


    Redmond didn''t please at all as he said these words, but to achieve his goal, he couldn''t hesitate, even though he knew that he might be putting all of the young people that he gathered in danger.


    This was why he asked Urie to prepare these young people for what was about to happen.

 Chapter 142 Arrival (Part 3)

    After Adam and nca left with Redmond, Urie had begun informing the other participants about the test.


    "Demonstrating that you are strong is indeed necessary during this test, but even if you are strong individually if your group doesn''t manage to pass the next test, the professors and also the Guardians would not evaluate you well," Urie said.


    "The theme for this test is ''cooperation'' because everyone in the Empire needs to work together against the monsters. However, everyone can''t a leader, but without a proper leader, things wouldn''t go well. Now look at yourself and evaluate your abilities and your weakness. Because if your group needs a leader but you hesitate to take the responsibility to lead everyone even though you can do so, then you have already failed as a noble. On the contrary, if you think of yourself as better than the leader of your group, yet your contributions and actions are for your own sake, then you fail as a noble. This is why discipline is crucial," Urie added.


    "The first test is necessary for the other members of your group to see what you are capable of and vice-versa. It will also help the leader to borate a n while knowing what his teammates are capable of. As you can see, a leader doesn''t only think about himself, and that''s why being strong doesn''t make you a good leader so don''t make a fool of yourself if you are not ready to shoulder this responsibility. You need to support your leader and contribute to everything their n because that''s the duty of a noble. The professors would evaluate these two aspects during this test."


    What Urie exined was indeed the official statement that the Empire issued about the Holy Academy''s test.


    Still, Redmond knew that it was not as simple as that and his intuition was spot on.


    The Holy Academy''s test was a battleground for influential people and also a source of revenue for others.


    The more participants affiliated with them pass the test, the more their influence would grow in the future. Still, this also allowed the Empire to keep an eye on the majority of the participants who were considered the new generation of gift holders.


    Hidden from the public view, a lot of internal conflict and fight for power was happening within the Empire and the monsters were thest of their worries.


    Good people were corrupted, the weak were crushed without dy, and the strong grew stronger until they fall in their turn. It was an unending cycle.


    Thus, some of those who are top began to search for a way to prolong their life.


    On the other hand, some were just focused on acquiring more money to spend excessively on mundane things after. This was also one of the most frequent lifestyles that some nobles and Lords adopted.


    Such people saw the Holy Academy''s test as a form of entertainment, and a lot of people were about to gamble on the participants and they bet an astronomical sum of money or even something more extreme just for the sake of the thrill.


    Those Lords were the ones who were bored with their life as they didn''t have the chance to go against the influential Lords despite their greediness, so they sought other methods to satisfy their wicked desires.


    All of that was part of the dark side of the Empire and because of his goal, Adam couldn''t avoid facing such a people.


    "Now, you need to ready yourself, and these people will help with that. We will be leaving for the Empire the day after tomorrow," Urie said, and she was clearly not rted to the dark side of the Empire, at least, Redmond made sure that she wouldn''t be swallowed by that world.


    Among all of the participants affiliated with the Raizel family, however, there were a few talented youths with particr gifts and one of them was Amelia despite her problematic attitude.


    During thest few years, the number of people having the same type of particr gift had increased dramatically and this made the emergence of exceptional individuals less frequent.


    Still, these talented youth were more concerned about Adam and his identity than everyone else because, despite their particr gifts, Adam''s abilities were unfathomable. What was his level? What was his gift? How strong he was? What was his connection with Lord Redmond? And why he was with Amelia.


    These questions crossed the participants'' minds, and Amelia ended up being the center of attention.


    Adam''s presence was impressive and the participants had a hard time acknowledging the fact that he was the same age as them. Moreover, he had the Pride of a noble and acted like how a genuine noble should act despite his ability.


    How he acted in front of Urie and how his attitude changed when in front of Redmond showed this.<sub> </sub>


    Urie wasn''t a Lord, and for a Lord to be looked down on by someone who wasn''t a noble would be a disgrace for them and the people who were under their jurisdiction. Thus, Adam hadn''t even once acted as if he was below Urie or anyone present there despite his age.


    Other nobles would of course adopt a more friendly attitude when they were in front of important people from the Empire whether they were Lords or not. This was because they feared drawing attention to themselves or because they didn''t have the power to back up their actions, to the point that they discarded their pride as a noble.


    Consequently, by showing such an attitude, Adam had shown that he had the power to back up his actions and he assumed his status.


    Nheless, Adam also acknowledged the hierarchy of power and showed respect to Redmond like a proper noble. He didn''t discard his pride by doing this, but he was showing that he was following the Empire''smon etiquette.


    By doing so, he wasn''t putting himself below Redmond but recognized that Redmond had an important role than him, at least within the Empire.


    Regardless, some interpreted his actions as showing off but in reality, they just felt Adam was above them in every aspect and they couldn''t stand it.


    Either way, the Holy Academy''s test would the day for every participant to prove their worth.


    *****


    Continuing the discussion with Redmond, Adam finally understood what was at stake during the Holy Academy''s test. Thus, he had already added various details to his n ording to Redmond''s exnation.


    "The only thing that looks challenging is the second part of the power test," Adammented. "I came here intending to pass the test with the highest score, but working with other people could indeed be tricky."


    Adam''s tone didn''t sound arrogant at all as he said these words, and it just sounded like it was normal for him to do so. Looking at his attitude, Redmond knew that Adam could back up his words, and far from arrogance, he saw the determination in Adam, seeing him analyzing the pieces of information that he just acquired as a great strategist would do.


    A noble must act like a noble in every aspect, but arrogance was not the main thing that should define them.


    A Lord without ambitions would not do anything good to those who expect something from them but if the Lord was also too arrogant, things would be the same.


    That was why Redmond was amazed by the bnce in Adam''s character. Still, he believed that Adam could still develop.


    "I am d that you are confident in your abilities, but you also need to be careful. There are a lot of talented people this year, and as you said, it will be tricky to work as a group if you were to be in such a group," Redmond said.


    "You don''t have to worry, uncle. I am aware of my limits, and I know what I can do and what I can''t so turning around the bush wouldn''t do anything well. I also believe you have your n and you would need to adjust it after my appearance so as of now, you can make those adjustments based on the fact that I will finish the test as a top student unless someone who has awakened their authority appears," Adam replied.


    "What makes you believe that?"


    "The Raizel family is not as influential as it was, I can at least reach this conclusion by myself, and seeing how uncle gathered these young people here, things would make sense if it was for the sake of the family because after talking with you, I can tell that you are simr to my father in many ways. Well, I believe all of the other Lords would also take advantage of this event to increase their family''s influence but, I am here with the attention to show my father that I am worthy of my title. And I believe that I can outperform everyone, so it would be a disgrace if I act this way and don''t get the highest score on this test. Of course, this is just mymitment as a Lord," Adam answered.


    "I am impressed!" Redmond cried in awe. He knew that Adam was testing him even though his words appeared to be straightforward. If Redmond was like the other words, what Adam said would have certainly offended him because Adam never once said that he needed the Raizel family''s help.


    When the popce looked up, they should see their Lord leading the way, and when they reach their hand to grab the Lord''s clothes, they should feel that the Lord was pulling them upward, giving them a sense of security. Such a Lord would be respected.

 Chapter 143 Your Standing?

    "Will that girl be alright?" Bianca asked in her usual tone.


    Adam and she had been brought to a luxurious guest room after discussing with Redmond, which took them a few hours.


    They were treated differently from the other participants even though everyone would be given room to stay in after the briefing with Urie.


    "Amelia? Well, we are not here to babysit her. She should at least manage to handle herself before the test. We are just keeping an eye on her for now," Adam answered. He decided that Amelia should be observed for now, and it would be unwise to try to do something about her problem without enough information.


    After all, if Adam''s theory was correct, Amelia was now entangled in a very troublesome problem that could be rted to the Empire''s dark side. Therefore, if he tried to meddle with Amelia, it would attract unnecessary attention, so he decided to just keep an eye on her for the time being as she might be also a key to understanding what was going on.


    "You think so? I think she is rather pitiful. Normally, I shouldn''t feel something as sinister as what I felt when I looked at her if I was with a kid. At first, I thought that it was because you were around, but earlier, her aura was different from other kids," nca said.


    Adam knew that nca wasn''t just being sensitive because she spent a lot of time in contact with the corruption so she could distinguish this sinister atmosphere from the other form of aura.


    "It''s rare for you to make ament like that," Adam remarked. "I''ve already taken her situation into consideration but it''s not our priority for the time being."


    "Yeah, you are right. So what do you think about that man?" nca asked.


    "To be honest, I can''t read him. He doesn''t appear in the least bothered by the fact that I came here to take control of the Raizel family. I don''t know if he just didn''t understand the meaning behind my words, if he just pretended to not know, or if my acting wasn''t yet perfect. What''s clear though is that he is nning something," Adam exined his impression of Redmond.


    "You don''t seem to dislike him though. You even agreed to call him uncle."


    "Well, I didn''t him to act like that. He said that he was impressed, but that would imply that he already had some expectations for me despite not meeting me yet. If he has expectations for me, then he must have nned something of which I was part  Still, from what I can see, he is a family guy like my father so his n must be for the sake of the family, and I can''t say I dislike him for that." Adam talked in his usual tone since apart from nca, no one else was around.


    "I know that you are trying to find what he is hiding though. So, what are we going to do from here?" nca said, and she began to eat the sweets served to them along with ck tea. Her face showed that she liked the sweets.


    "You need to avoid eating something in front of other people and talking to them if it''s still possible," Adam noted looking at nca''s blissful expression despite her trying to not show it.


    Hearing Adam''s words, nca turned her face away from Adam and when she looked at him again, her expression returned to normal.


    "Leave me alone," she mumbled.


    "Well, for now, we don''t need to do anything apart from gathering information. Cristal is already in charge of that though, so we wait for her and follow uncle Redmond''s instructions for now. The participants and everyone else must certainly be questioning our identity and expect to see more about what we are capable of Adam exined. "They are still wondering if we are just a bunch of show off or the real deal. This is where we solidify our standing within the Raizel family by surpassing their expectations. We should make them understand that we are pulling the Raizel family to the top by doing this, and those who are against us will be left behind. Of course, we don''t say anything and our action would do all of the jobs.


    "Would it be really that easy?" nca asked while tilting her head.


    "That''s why the first impression is important. Now that people saw that I don''t tolerate people looking down on me because of my age and that I also consider my pride as a Lord important, they will ept me as their leader more easily. Why? Because if their Lord care about their pride as Lord, they would not certainly let those below them get treated badly. That sense of pride, power, and superiority would be transferred to them and most people like that," Adam elucidated.


    "Of course, our action will be the basis for this, and if there are people who can''t understand this or decide to go against us, then they are not needed and will be eliminated if their actions cause problems."


    "Well, I understand it when you exined it like that but considering how that woman talked to you, I think that certainly aren''t influenced by our actions," nca pointed out.


    "Indeed, that is the case, but we can say that my actions and how I imposed my authority was stillcking and I am working on how to improve it. However, that was also because no one had to see what we are capable of yet. As you can see, our actions y a major role in the n. Well, there was also uncle Redmond, and I needed to personally express my gratitude to him, but in the future, as I said before, we won''t bow before anyone else again."<sub> </sub>


    Adam thought about his actions when he first arrived and understood that it was stillcking.


    "I see the problem. I talk too much," Adam said.


    "I am d you realized that. However, I think you didn''t talk like you usually do earlier," nca remarked.


    "It''s still too much. I should let them wonder about what I am thinking about and then astonish them with my actions," Adam said and he looked like he had figured out something.


    "I don''t know what you are thinking but at least, I can see that it''s for the sake of our goal. I am going to put more effort into this too. Talking about that, what should I do?"


    "I am d to hear that. I know that you have some weird thoughts about me though, which are probably wrong," Adam replied. "Well, we need to reach the Empire first and study the information that Cristal is currently gathering. I will decide after that."


    Tok! Tok! Tok!


    "Lord Adam, Lady Urie requests your presence," a soldier said.


    Redmond had already informed Adam that he should at least be present when Urie handed others to the participants their ID cards.


    nca opened the door and then Adam and her followed the soldier.


    This time, they were brought to a roofed training facility equipped with modern training equipment, dummy monsters, and different non-lethal weapons that can be used in the sparring areas.


    Few people noticed Adam and began to look at him in awe.


    Since they would be only leaving in two days, Adam changed his clothes to a elegant ck outfit and he wasn''t wearing his cape.


    nca on the other hand was wearing a red outfit and heels that Adam had designed himself. Sheined about the shoes at first, but when she looked at her appearance ar on the mirror, she found them rather interesting.


    "Please wait for a moment, Lady Urie will arrive soon," the soldier said and Adam and nca were looking at him while he was talking so there was a trace of anxiety in his voice.


    Still, Adam understood that this soldier was certainly not given detailed instructions on what to do after he brought Adam and nca to the roofed facility.


    Normally, as a Lord, he should be brought inside of a waiting room and even if he was just a noble, that should be also the case.


    Adam didn''t say anything and his eyes were focused on the training area, so it was nca who nodded at the soldier''s words.


    After that, a ck throne appeared behind Adam and he sat on top of it while nca stood on top of a t ck square. Both of them rose to the air and looked down at the training ground.


    Soon, the tea seats that were inside his room came up to him as if they were moving by themselves, but it was actually because Adam injected the dark matter inside them.


    Then, he took a sip from his cup but his movements were gracious and beautiful, contrary to the intimidating aura that he gave off earlier.

 Chapter 144 I Saw Your Worth

    "What''s up with that guy? Why is he even here? Didn''t you say that he was some kind of dark horse for the Raizel family during this test? His attitude pisses me off." A boy who looked about sixteen expressed his discontent, looking at Adam who appeared to be some kind of King observing his subjects while sitting on top of a ck throne-like chair that was floating in the air.


    His name was Alexander and appeared to be a well-raised kid as he was still wearing his uniform. He was certainly the dream groom of many young girls with his handsome face and neatlybed brown hair.


    Adam''s arrival was indeed impressive and people had a certain image of him burned inside of their memory but on the hand, no one knew who he was.


    Therefore, some saw his attitude as extremely irritating, and most thought this was the amateurs who couldn''t see what Adam''s actions implied.


    Moreover, when Adam exchanged words with Urie, not everyone what they were saying, so a lot of the participants began to create various theories about what happened.


    "He sure looks down on us. Still, you can''t deny that he''s got some guys, and I can''t say I dislike guy''s like that," A muscr boy, who looked too huge do his age replied to the first boy. His name was Benjamin and he had know Alexander since they were little.


    Along with them were three other teenagers that looked as capable as Alexander and Benjamin.


    One of them was a fairly tall girl who had her blond hair tied in a ponytail while letting her bangs cover her forehead. Even though she wasn''t very much developed like nca in certain areas, her figure could be considered delicate and nicely proportioned.


    Her name was Felicia and she agreed with neither Alexander nor Benjamin''s opinions. "At least, he is elegant and acts like a proper noble," shemented.


    "What? Didn''t you see how he acted earlier?" Alexander rebuked.


    "Well, thinking about it rationally, as Lord''s children, we should get the same treatment as he did, but none of us dared to say a word in front of Lady Urie." This time it was a girl with short ck hair that talked. Her name was Yoru and Compared to Felicia who looked like a cheerful and bright girl, she appeared to be a lot more gloomy and reserved.


    Thus, for her to express her opinion like that, she must be quite close to the other four.


    "Well, can we begin our training now? Whoever he is doesn''t concern us," a boy who looked older for his age, with his unnaturally serious-looking face, interrupted the conversation. His name was Banred and he adjusted his particr-looking sses as he said these words.


    Barned had somehow be the leader of their little group and no one elseined about it. After all, they knew that he was not the kind of person who would take such a responsibility half-heartedly.


    He was the one who gathered the group to the training ground, exining that there were certainly being observed. He theorized that they were already going through some kind of selection.


    In a way, his theory made sense as it was logical for the Lord of the Raizel family to put more support onto more promising participants.


    Thus, they thought that Adam was someone with great talent and that was why he was treated differently.


    Still, this theory didn''t please Alexander and not only him but a lot of other people too.


    "We will certainly end up in different groups though. This sucks," Benjaminmented.


    "You are not scared, are you?" Alexander asked.


    "You too, don''t let your guard down just because we are more talented than the others. You never know who would go up against you during the first test," Barned remarked, ncing at Adam.


    "Are you saying that I will lose against him in a fight? From what I can see, he is only good at performing tricks. He is more like an acrobat than anything else," Alexander said puffing his chest.


    "That was cheap even from you, Alexander," Yoru remarked.


    "What''s the problem with you all? Are you that scared of him? We are aiming for the special ss right?"


    While Alexander said these words as he was making a motivational speech, the other four looked at him with odd eyes.


    "What? Why are you looking at me like that? Hey, where are you going?"


    "Sometimes, I am wondering if he it''s his superiorityplex or if he is just stupid," Yoru whispered to Felicia. Still, she was whispering but everyone else heard it.


    "That''s why he doesn''t over friends apart from us. He should be really thankful, the poor thing," Felicia replied, and she had a gracious smile on her face but her words were like knifes stabbing Alexander straight to the heart.


    "Heyyy! I heard that!"


    Ignoring Alexander, everyone headed to the area where the dummy monsters were ced.


    However, when they arrived there, the training ground was already filled with the other participants.


    Still, it was not like all of the equipment was used, and the hundreds of participants didn''t even cover half of the area.


    "Let''s begin. We will do some light warm-ups using these dummy monsters first, then we will do serious sparring. Well, it might be serious but we shouldn''t expose our weakness, so in a way, it''s just for us to not get rusty before the test begins," Barned instructed.


    "Roger."


    "Okay."


    "Alright."


    "Hmph! I''ve been waiting for this. They will see that it''s not only that guy who ispetent here."


    Everyone else nodded at Barned''s words but like usual, Timothy had toment.


    "Hmm? What''s going on there?" Yoru noticed that other participants were chattering and looking at someone.


    "Oh! They are twins," Benjamin stated.


    "Yeah, we can see that. I am just wondering what''s up with them," Yoru added.


    The twins were two girls that had short hair that had two different colors. Half of their hair was white and a half was ck, and their eyes were also of a different color same as their hair.


    Their look was indeed unusual but what they were doing was odder.<sub> </sub>


    "Look, the swords are floating around them. Cool!" Benjaminmented.


    "The power of the attack is weak but their gift is indeed interesting. They will be probably eliminated in the first test." Barnedmented.


    People were at first curious about the twin''s looks but after seeing their ability, they began to look at them with pity.


    Everyone had their reason for wanting to attend the Holy Academy, and the twins were certainly part of the new generation of gift holders but their ability was justcking.


    Moreover, even though everyone else had joined or formed groups, the twins were left by themselves.


    "Well, let''s not get distracted. You can use these three dummy monsters. Alexander will be sparring with me," Barned said and throw a training sword at Alexander.


    "Eh? Why?"


    "You want to show your skills, right? This is your chance." Barned adjusted his ss as he said these words. "Of course, this is just a warm-up so we don''t use our gift. Now, show me your sword skill."


    "Hmph! Don''t me me if you lose badly even if this is just a warm-up."


    Hence, the group began their training or more precisely, their little demonstration.


    Barned and Alexander disyed refined sword skills and even though the other three were fighting dummy monsters, they also didn''t have their gifts.


    Thud! Thud!


    The people who were watching the twins earlier were now focused on Barned and his groups.


    "It seems like you have improved," Barnedmented after parrying Alexander''s attack by holding his sword vertically.


    "I can say the same about you," Alexander replied.


    There were of course other capable individuals among the other participants but Barned and his friends were all talented.


    However, something happened and everyone''s attention was directed at the twins.


    "This guy, what is he trying to do?" Alexander said.


    Adam''s throne stayed in mid-air but a t ck square appeared beneath his feet every time he took a step down toward the twins who looked up at him with anxious faces.


    These sisters had certainly regretted going out to the training field after seeing how people looked at them, but they tried to be brave and trained seriously using their gift.


    People were already used to seeing them when they were at home, and the maids or other people wouldn''t dare to makements about their appearance but here, everyone else was a Lord''s child.


    Adam finally stepped on the ground and stood in front of the twins.


    "What do you wish?" He asked, and everyone was puzzled by his words.


    "What''s this guy saying? Who does he think he is?" Alexander said with a frown.


    "Be quiet for a bit," Yoru said, ring at him. The rest of the groups had also stopped their training and looked at what was happening.


    The twins looked like they didn''t in the least appreciate being put at the center of the attention.


    Though, the older sister was moreposed than the little sister. Adam''s presence grow stronger when he was close and the twins felt it.


    "W-what do you mean?" The older sister asked. Among the two, she could be distinguished by looking at the ck part of her hair which was on the left, and her white left pupils, in contrast to her younger sister who had ck hair on the left part of her head.


    "Come," Adam said after looking at the twins with his crimson red eyes as if he knew what the sisters were thinking.


    He turned and began to walk up to his throne but this time, t ck squares also appeared in front of the twins.


    "Hey, man, what''s your deal? Are you trying to be famous or what? No offense, I am just wondering. The funny chair and the little demonstration with the little tricks," This time, it was not Alexander who said these words but another handsome boy would be certainly popr if he worked inside of those night clubs.


    His tone was full of sarcasm and the people who were certainly acquainted began tough.


    Hearing them, Adam didn''t even look back and just continued to walk dignifiedly.


    "He is trying to y it cool. Did you need to go that far to impress theirdies?" The pretentious boy added, seeing Adam ignoring him.


    This time, Adam stopped and looked over his shoulder but he saw that the sisters didn''t follow him.


    "Sorry, sorry! I didn''t mean to offend you, I-"


    Before the boy finished his sentence, something wrapped around his testicles.


    "Waa! Aaaa!"


    The pain that he felt after that was so intense that he fell to the ground and put his hands between his legs while crying in pain.


    Adam didn''t even look at the boy who was screaming in pain and said some words to the twins again.


    "Come. I saw your worth, and I will show it to you," Adam said, then he continued to walk again.


    The sisters, even though still doubting Adam''s intentions, stood on top of the t ck square which rose in the air and followed Adam.

 Chapter 145 Respect

    "What''s going on here?" Seeing the ruckus, Urie spoke with a stern voice.


    "You again? What are you trying to do with these girls? I won''t tolerate this attitude any longer," she shouted, interpreting what she saw in a way that pleased her without even knowing why Adam did what he did.


    Nheless, Urie couldn''t be med because from the point of view of someone who didn''t see what happened from the beginning, it looked like Adam was trying to take the twins somewhere and people tried to stop him.


    In a way this deduction wasn''t wrong but it was Adam''s intentions that made the difference.


    Still, Urie disliked Adam''s guts since the first time they met, certainly, because she thought that he would be an obedient kid. At least, that was how she imagined him while she was listening to Redmond.


    Yet, the individual who appeared in front of her exceeded all of her expectations.


    Nheless, she believed that Adam had a lot of things to learn and his attitude was not really appropriate if he wanted her to train and guide him like how Redmond asked her to.


    Little did she know that Adam had already surpassed her in a lot of ways, and the difference between them was so big that she would be speechless if she knew what Adam was capable of.


    Hearing what Urie said, Adam stopped, turned his head, and looked down at Urie.


    Then his ck cape put itself on his back and he floated in the air, above Urie, so she had to look up when she talked to him.


    "Look, that woman scolded him," one of the young boys who wasughing along with the pretty boy earlier said and his friends began to cackle with him.


    p "That''s what you get for acting like a clown. He probably thought that people would find him awesome and join him, but no one did, and so he targeted these weak girls," another one remarked.</anda>


    "Too bad for him. Anyone could see through his tricks. He is just a showoff."


    These people didn''t think twice before saying these words, and it seemed like not having their testiclespressed inside of a ck cube made them think that they could badmouth anyone without even knowing them.


    People could indeed change for the better with time but some were already too rotten and will continue to rot, spreading their malice to their surroundings. Their attitude, their mindset, everything about them was filthier than a horse''s feces.


    It was like a sickness, and the Lord''s children were more prone to contract this mental disease.


    If the children were like this, how rotten were the adults and their world, Adam thought.


    "Is this the soul of the Empire? I am disappointed," Adam said and suddenly the room got darker and the atmosphere got gloomy.


    People felt a chilling sensation running through their bodies and some of them began to tremble.


    "What is this? What are you doing? It looks like you really need some beating," Urie shouted in anger, thinking that Adam was challenging her.


    However, Adam was just sad. In the beginning, he looked forward to attending the Holy Academy but now he understood why it was stated that sometimes ''ignorance was bliss''.


    All he could see was the dark side of the Empire and everything, everyone could be his enemy, created by them or controlled by them.


    Added to this was the unchanging reality of the ugliness of human nature. He grew up in a lovely family so he was used to his parents'' kindness and he had almost forgotten that humans weren''t all like them.


    Adam knew that this was not really something that should surprise him, but he just thought about how wonderful it would have been if everyone just worked along with him to create a world where everyone could live happily.


    But that was just impossible. Trust, love, hope, happiness, desire, ambition, and pride, all of that were something that incited humans to aplish great things. And the world would be indeed more of a lovely ce if only, hatred, envy, arrogance, despair, greed, and betrayal weren''t also part of human nature.


    Consequently, for them to work together to create a bette work was unthinkable. After all, the world was always a beautiful ce with or without humans, so why it had be this rotten?


    When these thoughts crossed Adam''s mind, he nced at the twins and realized that these twins'' gifts had somehow influenced his thoughts even if it was at a very insignificant level.


    However, for Adam who had a higher level of thinking ability, just a slight disturbance could lead him to make a dissertation about the topic inside his head.<sub> </sub>


    The sisters had certainly decided to be brave and hoped that something good might happen, thinking about the wonderful tales that their parents told them about the Empire, but the reality made them feel disappointed.


    Seeing Urie who was about to activate her power, Adam reached his hand and when he did, everyone felt a force that forced them to kneel down. Everyone present there, whoever they are, apart from the twins and nca, had their knees on the ground.


    The area didn''t be darker out of blue and it was due to Adam''s power.


    Normally, everything that the ck cubes touched should disintegrate, but Adam had created a weaker version of his Darkmatter by not synthesizing antimatter and using iron atoms instead.


    It was not easy because he needed to learn to be able to differentiate and feel this one particr atom from the others. After that, he needed to use his astral form andbined the Darkmatter with the iron atoms and increased their numbers.


    With this, he would be able to control the other primordial particles if he could feel them, but this was just a sort of practice for him, as it required a lot of focus to control something that was at an atomic level with his thoughts.


    Nheless, just by doing this, Adam had already managed to achieve something that he couldn''t before.


    For example, controlling the reconstructed atoms even though they were inside a human body.


    Obviously, the people who were kneeling on the ground and looked up at Adam would never know what was happening to them.


    Something was moving in the air, almost like a ck cloud or a visible aure, but these particles were the atoms that Adam was controlling with his thoughts.


    In other words, he could kill anyone present by making a block of iron appear inside of their heart.


    Besides, Adam original ability prevented them from using their gift and these gifted and talented felt utterly powerless.


    Bringing his astral body to this dimension was the most awesome thing that Adam did.


    Now that he about it, he felt if he had enough power to spread the area that his ability could cover, controlling the whole universe wasn''t as impossible as it sounded.


    His astral body left a part of him on everything that came in contact with it, so if the space covered by his original ability was big enough, for example as big as the universe, that would mean that the universe would be a part of him.


    Thus, Adam had a certain idea of how a universe existed inside of him, but his realization wasn''t enough to exin everything.


    Compared to what he needed to do to solve this mystery, the people in front of him and their thoughts and opinion of him was nothing but a trifle.


    Still, Adam knew that there would always be people who would look down on him, or make fun of his status despite him not talking to them or even looking at them, so he needed to show them why they should respect him even if they didn''t like him or his attitude.


    "I sparred you because of your ignorance. There will be no next time," Adam said, looking at Urie straight in the eyes but everyone else also felt the height of his words.


    Even without his status, Adam had the fate of the world on his shoulders, but no one needed to know what he was going through, and no one could force him to continue if he give up, because the choice was his and even though heined at first, he was now ready to face his inevitable future.


    However he believed that as a Lord, people should respect him. This was the least they could do to support him because if he managed to save the world, humanity would owe him a great deal. And if he failed, no one knew what would happen but humanity wouldn''t be there to see that.


    Who would want to save a species that treat someone who was battling for their sake so disrespectfully? Indeed, ignorance was also sometimes a sin.


    Consequently, Adam had decided to leave things there because when he looked down at the people below him, he saw various expressions on their faces, such as fear, hostility, and confusion, but he didn''t see respect in their eyes.


    Adam realized that people had certainly misunderstood his actions and this also disappointed him. How could they not see what the twins were feeling, and even if they didn''t see that, why were they criticizing him when he was trying to help these two?


    He had observed what was happening and knew that the twins'' gifts were special, but that was not the reason why he reached out to them because other people had particr gifts that were better than them there.


    Adam decided to help these sisters because he listened to what they were saying and when he said that he saw their worth, it was not only their gift but also their nature as humans.


    Adam was already putting his n into motion and decided that these twins were worth his time, and he needed to do something before they were swallowed by the Empire.

 Chapter 146 Rose & Azalea

    "So what exactly do you need from us?" The older of the twins steeled her resolve and spoke while holding her sister''s hand tightly despite the circumstances.


    She and her sister were inside the room, facing a very intimidating individual, and they knew that this person''s attitude wasn''t just a fa?ade.


    "I am Lord Adam Von Kepalta, may I know your names before we discuss?" Adam said and even though he didn''t move an inch, tea was being served to the twins.


    "My name is Azalea Vyh Kristen and my sister is Rose Vyh Kristen," Azalea answered but Adam noticed the anxiousness in her voice.


    He understood that the girls in front of him were intimidated by his disy of power and he was surprised to see that they were stronger than he thought, at least mentally.


    A lot of Lord''s children tended to act like spoiled brats, mostly girls, and believed that they could have everything they wanted. Of course, reality would hit them hard when they get married or discover the dark side of the world.


    This was also why Adam thought that what he did might have been too excessive. Most of the people that were present there were just as ignorant as how he was during hising to age ceremony.


    There was also the fact that his actions were influenced by the sister''s gift, making him more irritated than he should have been.


    Consequently, he left and asked Banca to listen to what Urie had to say and also the ID cards, his and the twins'' because he didn''t even want to stay there any longer.


    Thinking about it, he acted the way he did because he didn''t want people to look down on him or his father just because their was gone. As long as some of the people who lived on the were still alive, he would be always their Lord.


    These people were certainly looking forward to seeing their Lord''s exploit at the Holy Academy because this would bring them new hope.


    "Sigh¡­" Adam sighed, and the sisters could feel that he was in a sour mood, but his change of expressionsted only for a second. "Don''t worry, I don''t need anything from you, but I want you to answer one question. To which extent is passing the test important for you?"


    "Pass the test? What do you mean?" Azalea didn''t quite understand what Adam was saying.


    "Is passing the test important for you both, or are you just here because someone asked you to?" Adam rified.


    However, the twins were more confused after hearing Adam''s question. It was not because they didn''t understand the question but because they didn''t know why Adam asked them this question.


    There was a moment of silence but Adam didn''t say anything and just took a sip from his cup.


    "Why don''t you tell us directly what you want? I- I will not let you have your way with us and we won''t surrender to you even if you are strong," Azalda said, and looking at her, Adam was curious as to how she reached this conclusion after hearing what he said.


    Rose was very shy and couldn''t even look Adam in the eyes, so Aza had to talk to both of them.


    "Don''t misunderstand me. As I said, I don''t need anything from you but earlier, I saw your worth, your potential. I believe that you can aplish outstanding things," Adam exined in a calm but deep voice, and the twins widened their eyes after hearing what he said.


    "But, certainly, that would be impossible the way you are now," he added, and this made the twins look dejected. "Therefore, I am going to ask again, are you trying to pass the test for you to achieve your goal, or are you just here because someone asked you to?"


    "I¡­ I want to decide for myself. My sister also should be able to decide for herself¡­ We¡­ I¡­" Azalea was struggling to find the words she needed to say and Rose looked like she was feeling frustrated and powerless.


    "Okay, I understand," Adam nodded his head even before Azalea could finish her sentence.


    By just analyzing Azalea''s expression and her words, Adam had already a general idea about the twins'' backstory and their situation."


    Without a doubt, their parents raised them with love, but the girls were more unique than their parents thought they would be.


    However, the problem was that they were both girls, and if a male heir wasn''t born in their family, then they would be married to someone that would be the new Lord.


    What their parents didn''t know, however, was that the twins didn''t want to marry anyone and their situation was different from kids of their age. They didn''t want to be apart from each other as if their mind was connected.<sub> </sub>


    Nheless, their father was the underlying of a Lord who was also under the Raizel family. This Lord had decided that Aza would marry his son and Rose would marry the son of his friend.


    Because of this, the twins weren''t given the proper training they needed to develop their gift, and even if it was the case, it would be still difficult for them to reach level 3 because knew what was the true nature of their gift.


    Instead, they were asked to focus on bing properdies that would be able to manage their household and support their husbands.


    This didn''t please them in the least but seeing their father''s face looking at them as if he was about to cry, the twins decided that they should at least do it for their parents.


    They lived a luxurious life but they also realized that their parents and they were more powerless than they appeared to be.


    Still, it was not something that unusual and they weren''t that unluckypared to the people like Zax or Brandon.


    It was just that the twins had always dreamed of a different life but their future was already decided for them, until one day, the Emperor made an announcement, and then a letter from the Raizel family arrived.


    It was an opportunity. Attending the Academy, achieving something exceptional, and using this status to change their fate.


    This was what the twins thought upon heading the new, but they were na?ve. Theycked power, and even without that, the Empire itself was already rotten to the core.


    Things might have ended in a more awful way for them if Adam didn''t notice that they had something unique.


    "Unfortunately, if you continue on this path, with your current ability, only disappointment and despair will await you. So, I will give a one-of-a-lifetime opportunity to ask for my help. Now decide for yourselves. I just wanted to let you know that I saw you''re your worth and since I am capable to bring out your potential, I decided that it would be a waste to let the Empire corrupt you," Adam continued.


    "Why, why would help us? There''s nothing we can do for you¡­"


    "Do you want me to help you or not? I won''t ask again, and I already stated the reason for my decision. Among all of the people present there, I saw that you were worth more than you looked, and it would be a waste if you just rotted away in the Empire. I am sure you''ve already realized it but the Empire is not what a lot of people think it is," Adam said, and this time he realized that his habit of talking too much had surfaced again.


    "I¡­"


    "P-please help us, Lor-ch Adam!"


    Unexpectedly, it was Rose who stood up from the seat and bowed in front of Adam. She even bit her tongue due to the stress but it looked like she had made up her mind.


    "Rose?"


    "A-zalea¡­ Lord Adam doesn''t have any bad intentions¡­I¡­ I can tell. If he wanted someone us, someone like him wouldn''t even need to discuss like this," Rose said, and her voice soft, almost as if it was fading away.


    "I know, but how can we trust him?" Azalea retorted.


    "We¡­ We can''t do this alone, Azalea¡­ I don''t want to see you sad, but we have to make sacrifices," Rose said.


    Listening to them, Adam began to understand their rtionship a little bit better.


    Azalea might be more daring than Rose, but Rose was by no means a child that needed to be liked after by Azalea all the time


    "I will keep my promise. You will be able to unlock your full potential with my help. What you will decide to do after that is not my concern," Adam interrupted the twins. "Let''s begin immediately. We don''t have much time left before the test."


    "Than-k you, Lor-ch Adam," Rose said bowing her head, but her face was bright red.


    Adam smiled a bit looking at the twins. Maybe they were more interesting than they appeared to be.

 Chapter 147 Reactions

    After Adam left with the twins, every person present within the training area felt like a huge boulder was taken off of their shoulders, and the feeling that felt like a metal chain wrapping around their heart was finally gone.


    Urie was the one who had taken a lot of mental damage from what had just happened.


    She wasn''t a bad person otherwise Redmond wouldn''t have let her in charge of the participants but she had a pretty stubborn character.


    "Are you alright, Miss Urie?" One of the ten high-level gift holders who were tasked to help the participants approached Urie as she still looked confused.


    Still, no one could me her after what happened. Some of the participants were still trembling.


    "Don''t worry, I am fine. I need to talk with Redmond. I will leave the rest to you guys." After a few minutes, Urie regained her usualposure and stood up then left without making anyment.


    She never felt this humiliated before but at the same time, she experienced being utterly powerless.


    Nevertheless, she didn''t let any of that show on her face or attitude as left.


    "My master asked me to retrieve his and his guests'' ID cards." nca''s voice startled the man who held the ID cards.


    Only a few people noticed that she didn''t leave with Adam because they were focused on Adam himself.


    Moreover, Adam was one thing but the woman who was standing in front of those high-level gift holders made them feel pressured.


    Most of them were level 7 gift holders, and they were proficient at using their but they couldn''t evaluate nca''s strength.


    "Certainly. What''s your master''s and his guests'' name?"


    Nheless, they had their pride as members of the Raizel family, and even after what happened, all of them acted as if nothing happened.


    "His Name is¡­ Adam, Adam Von Kepalta. His guests are Rose and Azalea Vyh Kristen," nca said, and it looked like she forgot Adam''s name but Cristal reminded her.


    "Please wait for a few moments, I am searching for their ID cards."


    While nca was waiting for the man to find Adam''s ID cards, the other trainers began to organize the participants.


    However, the participants were still chatting among themselves and Adam began the focus on their discussions.


    Most of them never experienced this kind of situation before, so they began to share their experiences with others.


    "What do you think Banred?" Even Alexander who was always prideful and confident asked Banred''s opinion on what happened because he didn''t know how to interpret it. After all, no matter how he thought about it, there was no way for him to say something about himself seeing what happened.


    "What do you want me to say? We all know about stories of powerful gift holders and we grew up trying to be like them. That g-¡­ That person is just like the power gift holders depicted in those stories. However, that doesn''t mean that our goal will change, does it? Instead, we should try harder to catch up to him," Barned said and he looked frustrated but at the end of his sentence, a confident smile appeared on his face.


    Everyone else nodded at his words, and their group''s morale had increased a big.


    Indeed, rather than envying Adam and criticizing his actions, they should focus on how to achieve his level.


    Barned was frustrated even though he said these words, and he knew that everyone else must be the same. They trained hard to hone their skills and increase their level but in front of Adam, they were the same as everyone else.


    This fact was hard to ept, mostly for someone like Alexander, so Barned''s words were important.


    After all, if they focused on what happened andpared what they had achieved to what Adam did, they would never reach the next level, Banred understood this.


    "But I wonder why did he ask the twins toe with him," Felicia remarked.


    "I am wondering about that too," Yoru added.


    Indeed, all of this had happened because Adam had asked the twins toe with him, an action that puzzled everyone else.


    The same question popped up inside of their mind but there couldn''te up with an answer.


    "Well, it depends on what he saw during his observation," Barned replied. "He must have seen things that we didn''t. Well, it makes sense considering his power."<sub> </sub>


    "I wonder what did he see," Felicia mumbled.


    Barned and his group weren''t the only ones who wondered about the reasons behind Adam''s actions.


    At first, some people thought that Adam was trying to exploit the girls because they appeared to be weak but seeing how strong he was, people found this more unlikely.


    Thus, they reached another conclusion and spected that the twins might be more special.


    Of course, some denied all of those theories and just thought that Adam was arrogant.


    These people weren''t convinced that they wouldn''t be able to win against Adam. They thought that in a serious fight, they still have a chance and this time, they were just taken by surprise.


    Among the participants, some began to admire Adam and found him cool, but some wanted to test his abilities. Some had even thought about seducing him or getting close to him to increase their own influence and take advantage of Adam''s strength.


    "Hmph! I know a lot of people who are stronger than him. And it''s not like his gift is that powerful. It looks like he can control metal. In other words, an elemental gift. In a few months, I will be already above him and I will make sure to pay him back for this," the blonde boy who had his testiclespressed said, and even though he could still feel the pain between his legs, he had already begun to talk arrogantly.


    Listening to all of this, nca wondered if this was also within Adam''s expectations. After all, she noticed that there was something a little bit odd about some people''s reactions.


    It looked like some of them were not even fazed after seeing Adam''s demonstration of power. Moreover, even though nca didn''t really care about these people, she found it interesting that Adam disyed his power in front of them.


    She wondered about why Adam had chosen this method though or was he genuinely angry? Bianca couldn''t tell.


    "Here are the ID cards."


    After retrieving the ID cards, nca left immediately but people were observing her.


    Who was she? Why was she with Adam? Was she strong? They couldn''t guess the answer to these questions.


    *****


    "What''s the meaning of this, Redmond?!" Entering Redmond''s office, Urie spoke with an almost furious tone.


    "Meaning of?" Redmond had already seen Urie angry before so he wasn''t really surprised but he didn''t expect to see her in such a mood that day. After all, she looked extremely excited to see the participants.


    "That kid, why didn''t you tell me that he was this troublesome? You talked with him right?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "He just forced us all to kneel to the ground and spouted some kind of nonsense and then forced two girls toe to his room. I admit that he is strong but his attitude is very problematic," Urie said, and she sat abruptly on top of a luxury sofa-like chair.


    "Did you see him do all of that?" Redmond inquired.


    "Yes, I did. Well, he was already on his way back when I caught him and asked him to exin himself," Urie said.


    "Is that all? From what I saw earlier, Adam is smart and tends always to act rationally. So have you asked him the right questions? Depending on what you said, you might have found it offending and I already told you that he has the status of a Lord. Adam is a prideful individual and he can take responsibility for his decisions there must be a reason why he asked these girls toe with him," Redmond exined.


    "What? You don''t trust me?"


    "I am just saying that you might have not entirely understood the situation."


    "I understand it perfectly. That brat is trying to use his power to do everything he wants," Urie said in an annoyed tone.


    "Urie, this isn''t unlike you. I know that he is not like the other kids but that doesn''t necessarily mean that he has bad intentions. He may be young but he is stronger than you and has a higher status than you, so you have to show him the respect he deserves. Didn''t you see how he acted once he was given the treatment he deserved? I knew that the method we used was unusual and you seemed to enjoy bossing the kids around, but if these kids im their rights and you know that they deserve it, ignoring them would be the same as denying the Empire," Redmond said.


    Urie reflected on her actions but what happened had still made her feel irritated.


    "Even so¡­"


    "We will talk with him togetherter and ask him directly. However, you need to act properly in front of him," Redmond continued.

 Chapter 148 Promise

    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    It was impossible for the twins to pass the test. I could tell that much just by looking at the two of them.


    On top of being physically weak, they weren''t even proficient at using their gift and theirmunication skills werecking.


    Nevertheless, for the sake of my n, I needed to turn these sisters into high-level gift holders.


    After all, one of the things that I needed to do was to gather as many as possible of the tinum generation under me. Of course, it was logical that I begin with participants affiliated with the Raizel family.


    That was why I was observing them and my observation wasn''t in vain. Still, I didn''t expect that the little sister had that kind of gift.


    Though I didn''t regret my actions, I nned to let the participants see me bringing the twins, andter when they see how much they improved, they would certainly be more curious.


    My strategy was to continue to use their curiosity about me and my actions to take them by surprise after.


    As such, what I did might have been a little bit excessive. Nheless, these brats should be thankful that I didn''t castrate them.


    I knew that they were certainly not aware of my status as a Lord but even if they did, I knew that they would still find something to irritate me, so that might have been for the best. At least they would shut their mouth from now, wouldn''t they?


    Some of those Lord''s brats were dumb though, and since I had already said that there would be no next time, I would make sure that they regret being born if they still dare to try me.


    I didn''t want their action to impact my ns as it would give me a bad image. They were indeed affiliated with the Raizel family, but now that they were not ignorant anymore, there was no reason to go easy on them.


    Well, at least, the girls in front of me seemed to know their ce when talking to me. The older sister, Azalea showed hostility at first, and I didn''t mind it because it was for the sake of her sister, but now, they appear to be more open to a discussion.


    Considering the circumstances, there was no time to waste so I immediately begin to exin various things to them.


    "As I said before, it''s impossible for you to pass the test the way you are now. However, we need to know why?" I began with the hardest topic that most people didn''t want to talk about. I listed their weakness.


    "First of all, your physical ability iscking and your gift mastery is mediocre. Also, you haven''t fully grasped the nature of your gift. Lastly, you are too dependent on each other. Now, let''s discuss all of these in detail and find solutions," I said.


    "But¡­ It''s not like we would be able to be stronger in just one day, right?" Azalea said, and I remarked that what I said had made her feel frustrated.


    "Yes, that would be impossible but passing the test isn''t if you follow my advice," I said, and I didn''t lie but what I said wasn''tpletely true either.


    What I needed to see was their determination because as long as they were determined, they would be useful in the future, so the test was never the problem.


    Moreover, they needed to see that their actions were for their own benefit and not for me or anyone else.


    After this was the reason why some people got betrayed by those who were under them.


    If at first, they are loyal and do everything for their Lord''s benefit out of respect, the time woulde when they would think about their benefit and at that time, they would see that the world wasn''t all about respect.


    There was no telling what kind of people would be like that. That was why I didn''t intend to share my real ns with anyone that didn''t have the same goal as me or didn''t benefit from my actions and their contribution.


    "I deduce that you didn''t have much opportunity to train your body and your gift, and the reason for this doesn''t matter, but if you want to increase the mastery of your gift, your body must be strong enough to handle the growth of your power. This is why, many nobles learn, for example, learn sword skills or other martial arts while increasing their gift mastery. You can''t skip this step, but I can tell you how to do it more rapidly and efficiently," I exined.


    The girls listened to me with great interest but I could see that they also looked like they expect something more. "However before I continue, I want you to promise me something."


    "Promise?"


    "We will do anything you ask, Lord A-jam!"


    "Rose, what are you saying?" Azalea said, startled by what Rose said.<sub> </sub>


    "Lord Adam is strong, noble, and wise. He will not ask us to do something suspicious," Rose replied with an innocent smile on her face.


    "What? He didn''t say anything that could help us yet," Azalea retorted.


    ''This girl¡­'' I thought to myself, realizing that the younger sister might have been more cunning than she looked.


    "Don''t worry, it''s simple. Unless you are strong enough to beat me, you must refuse any marriage proposal," I said.


    "What? Why would we promise you such a thing?" Azalea rebuked.


    The answer to her question was simple. From what I could tell, these two didn''t want their life to be dictated by their status, so they decided to take this opportunity. Otherwise, there was probably no reason for them to take part in the Holy Academy test with their mediocre skills, and their parents, if they were not dumb, wouldn''t have let theme here.


    I theorized that Redmond did something after hearing the report about these two.


    Nheless, I need to establish our position from here and if they epted this condition, everything would be settled.


    I wasn''t only thinking about what would happen during the test and decided to see the bigger picture.


    They would be tied down by their duties once they get engaged but if they epted my condition, I would be able to do something about their situation until they grow strong enough and capable of really deciding for themselves.


    This will establish a sort of connection between us, in a way that benefits both parties.


    Of course, they would never beat me, but when they get strong as the current Liu, I woulde to this again.


    In other words, this was more advantageous for them, but I just wanted to see how they would react. After all, from what I said, it sounded like I wanted them to sacrifice something if they wanted me to help them.


    Still, it was not that important but I just felt the need to say it, seeing that their appearance would certainly attract a lot of degenerate Lords with disgusting fetishes and imagination.


    As long as the twins were more or less under my protection, it would also give me a reason to eliminate all of those people.


    It might not be a great n as it was just a minor detail, but it was better to have a lot of hidden cards no matter how insignificant they were.


    In summary, despite everything that I thought about, the goal was to establish a rtionship based on the fact that I was doing something for them and that I didn''t owe them anything. However, that would make them doubt my attention, so I added the promise thing, that was all, and the minor details were just because I was trying to explore the possibilities.


    "You don''t have to, and I will still help you even if you don''t but that''s all I will do," I said.


    "We ept!" Rose said.


    "What? Wait, Rose¡­"


    "Lord Adam is trying to tell us that we should be only devoted to him," Rose said, again, with an innocent smile on her face.


    "Rather than being devoted to me, shouldn''t you be devoted to your training? You must know that this might be the only opportunity for you to change your fate. The promise itself isn''t that important, but I want to see your determination," I said.


    "Even so, what does that have to do with marriage proposals?" Azalea asked.


    "You will understand when the timees, but for now, let''s continue. The second thing that we need to rify is the nature of your gift," I continued. "Have you ever heard about psychic abilities?"


    "Psy-? I have never heard of such a thing," Azalea said after failing to find a matching word from her memories.


    "M-me neither," Rose added.


    "Well, I didn''t expect you to know about it. Therefore, let''s talk about telepathy and psychokinesis," I said.

 Chapter 149 Psychokinesis & Telekinesis

    "First, you tell me everything you know about your power? What can you do with it? What is your current limit, and what do you think you will be able to do after the mastery of your power? Azalea, you go first," I said.


    "Me? I think I can move things with my thoughts. I don''t really how I do it but I just need to focus on the target," Azalea answered and unlike before, she appeared to be more cooperative.


    "From now, we will refer to your power as psychokinesis. You are probably aware of the fact that gifts give the holders the ability to alter reality to a certain level," I added. "In your case, your gift gives you the ability to materialize your thoughts. However, the question is, which part of your thought is materialized? Have you ever thought about this?"


    "¡­I tried to find more information about our gift but I couldn''t find anything," Azalea said, looking a little bit frustrated.


    "Well, you would never find such a thing in a book. Anyway, do you know what an aura is?"


    "Aura? Some kind of¡­ No, I don''t how to exin it," Azalea said, trying to show me with some gestures what she thought aura was.


    "Think about it like this," I said and used Cristal to project a 3D hologram of G*ku. "Can you see these, the energy that surrounds him? This is more or less what aura is. Now, let''s find the connection between this and your gift. What if you could use this aura to create a big hand?"


    This time, the aura turned into a big hand that stretched and moved around him, grabbing things.


    "Do you understand now?" I asked.


    "Are you saying that I can use my aura to do something like this?"


    "More precisely, you can control your aura with your thoughts. However, not every type of aura can be used as such, otherwise, every high-level gift holder would be able to use psychokinesis," I exined. "So your true gift is your aura and your unusual psychic facilities. Now, tell me, what are the limits of your power?"


    Azalea looked like she began to realize what exactly her gift was and it was a good thing to see that she was smart.


    "I can only lift three things at once, for now, and I can''t lift something too heavy, or can I control it when they are too far from me," Azalea said.


    "What about people? Can you use your power in them?"


    "I can, but most of the time it was not that effective," Azalea said.


    "Well, that''s pretty logical considering your level."


    Gift holders had a fairly considerable amount of physics strength after all, and even though their gift, it would be hard for Azalea to inflict any damage on them.


    So, what do you think you could do with your power in the future?" I added. "After all, I want you to have a goal that you can set your eyes on."


    "If I could lift more things at once, it would be good. Also, heavy things, if I could lift heavy things, I would be unstoppable," Azalea said with a determined tone.


    She was more simple-minded than I thought, but she wasn''t also wrong to think that way.


    "For reference, what kind of heavy thing do you want to be able to lift with your ability in the future?"


    "Mmm, a spaceship? No, three big spaceships. No one would dare to bother me and my sister anymore after that," Azalea said.


    Well, in a way, what she said was truly intimidating, at least if she talked to the old me.


    However, now that I knew about the scale of power in this world, her thoughts sounded na?ve but it was fine even if she stayed that way for the time being.


    "I see, well, you can do that but it depends on your efforts," I said, thinking about what exactly Azalea could do in the future.


    As expected of a simple-minded person, Azalea thought that the bigger the things she could lift and throw at her opponent, the stronger she would be.


    In a way, she wasn''t wrong, but I was more focused on things at the atomic scale these days.


    Like what I did with the iron atoms, Azalea would be an incredibly powerful gift holder if she could exploit this realm. Well, unlike me, it would be hard for her to achieve a level of concentration in which she would be able to control every atom in her surrounding.


    Nheless, if she could do that, she would be more useful for the crisis that had yet toe.


    Well, she would need to be able to lift, not only three but twenty spaceships if she wanted to be able to do such a thing.<sub> </sub>


    Consequently, I didn''t include her in the important part of the n.


    "Now, let''s about Rose''s gift. What can you do with your gift?"


    "M-me? I- I can send my thoughts to other people''s minds. But It doesn''t have any effect most of the time," Rose said and she still appeared like an innocent child.


    "As I thought, your ability is called telepathy," I affirmed. "Again, this is because of the nature of your aura. Emotions and thoughts are all signals that are produced inside our brain, and use your aura to control othet people''s thoughts and emotions."


    "I-I see," Rose nodded vigorously at my words.


    "Then again, this type of gift is the most mysterious of all, and, mastering it requires a lot of patience and knowledge," I said.


    Looking at Rose, I knew that she had a hidden side and her thoughts were not as simple as Azalea''s.


    Thus, I decided to not give her too much information about her gift for the time being and just train her.


    If my theory was true, she had the ability to manipte people''s emotions was a very dangerous weapon.


    To put it simply, she could create a certain wavelength that affects people''s emotions, and if she learned to control the power, I would be surprised if she would be able to read people''s minds and emotions.


    Again, this would need a lot of concentration and she must polish her skills but if she could do that, she would be a pretty scary person.


    Of course, they wouldn''t stand a chance against me even if they reached that level, but it was always better to be careful when it came to things like this.


    "Now-"


    "Tok! Tok! Tok!"


    Before I could continue, I heard someone knocking at the door. I already knew that it was nca but she had also other people along with her.


    <o>,m Using my power, I opened the door, and Azalea looked at me with interest.</o>


    "Master, Lord Redmond wishes to talk with you," nca said. I could still feel some awkwardness in her voice, but instead of having a negative impact, it gave a more interesting touch to her character.


    She appeared to be some kind of beast who was wearing human skin. Well, normal people wouldn''t notice that but someone like my uncle had surely seen through her acting.


    However, I had already taken this into ount. Someone who had a beast like that under them would be no joke, or so I wanted them to think.


    I didn''t say this nca, of course, because I wanted her to focus on getting better at ying her character and in the end, acquire the skill itself. Cristal was helping her when she needed to say something but it was not enough.


    Anyway, nca and her acting was one thing but seeing Redmond and the bossy woman from earlier gave me another idea.


    "What brought you here this time, uncle?" I said, gesturing for my uncle and the woman politely to sit.


    "Well, I need to discuss various things with you," my uncle said, and I could see that his eyes were focused on the twins.


    Well, considering that the woman was with her, I already knew that it was rted to what happened earlier. I didn''t intend to apologize though, and instead, I would take advantage of this opportunity to establish the groundwork for the first step of my n.


    "I see, well, as you can see, I am still in the middle of a discussion with thesedies, but if the topic that you want to discuss is of the highest importance, then I will postpone it forter," I said, looking at the woman next to my uncle with a smile on my face.


    "You¡­" The woman looked like she wanted to say something but decided to shut her mouth after the smile on my face disappeared.


    "No, it''s fine, I want to hear their opinions about this matter too," my uncle said.


    "Are you referring to the reason why I bought them here? Well, I am d that you came here. I want to discuss something with you, uncle," I said and a smile appeared on my face again.

 Chapter 150 Testing

    :::[Third Person POV]:::


    The room in which Adam was currently residing was spacious and it didn''t feel in the least cramped even if seven people were gathered inside.


    Redmond was one of the people who sat on a luxurious sofa-like chair inside this room. He came to talk to rify various things Adam along with the Urie but to his surprise, Adam''s attitude suggested that he had already taken his arrival into ount.


    "Uncle, it seems like some people had misunderstood my intentions. I didn''t, of course, expect to do this as such a thing is impossible, in the first ce, but as I said before, insults toward me and my status are not tolerable," Adam said and he emphasized the fact that Urie and the other participants would never be at the same level as him.


    "Thus, let me exin the reason behind my actions for the sake of everyone," he added. "As I was observing the participants, an idea came to my mind as I discovered talented people. Uncle, I am not saying that the people you chose to instruct the participants are notpetent but they aren''t at the level where they could determine the extent of someone''s hidden potential."


    Adam talked with such confidence that Urie began to show a hostile expression ok her face.


    "Thus, I am going to gather all of the participants that I deem worthy and help them discover their potential. Rather than letting the Empire swallow them, I prefer to see those people use their ability for the sake of their own goal which would, in the long run, benefit the Raizel family," ignoring Urie Adam continued.


    What Adam said was something extremely offensive and sounded like a challenge for Redmond and the Empire itself.


    Redmond was taken by surprise as he nced at Adam who was waiting to see his reaction.


    ''This man...'' Redmond was smart and understood what Adam implied when he said these words.


    First, Adam didn''t say that he was waiting for Redmond''s approval and emphasized the fact that he was the only one who was going to do the job with or without Redmond''s help.


    If Adam seeded, he would have control over the future Lords and this implied that he would be also the most influential person within the Raizel family in the future.


    In addition to this, he also emphasized the fact that he didn''t intend to let the Empire control him. Redmond might be thinking too much about this, or so he thought, but if Adam didn''t want to be controlled by the Empire then it would mean that he was aiming for something else.


    However, the most cunning thing that Adam said was that it would benefit the Raizel family.


    By all means, this would benefit the Raizel family, considering that the family''s influence had declined.


    Having a few people at Adam''s level, or so Redmond thought, would allow the family to increase their influence once in a near future.


    Nheless, if Redmond agreed to this, it would mean that he was giving the reign to Adam inexplicitly.


    In other words, the young man in front of him was testing him, even though he had a smile on his face as he said these words.


    If he was against this, Adam would continue with his n and an internal conflict would start within the Raizel family. If Redmond only cared about his interest, this would be unavoidable, and Adam would certainly not go easy on him.


    Moreover, with just this, Adam had already proven that on top of being strong, he was smart and cunning. He also had charisma and the ability to manipte people, or Redmond concluded, looking at the two girls who didn''t look in the least afraid of Adam.


    He was thinking about what kind of discussion they were having before he came, but if he did this with all of the other talented neers, it would be easy for him to make his words a reality.


    At first, Redmond just felt that it would be nice if Adam was a talented individual with a character simr to Julius''.


    After all, Redmond was the only one who prevented an internal conflict from happening, and unless he was gone, the Raizel family would be gone with him.


    He had always thought about what Julius would have done if he was in his ce, but at the end of the day, Redmond worked hard to not let his influence within the family weakened.


    He needed to stand firm and keep the troublesome Lords in check. Therefore, the Holy Academy test was at the same time an opportunity and a dilemma.


    If the Raizel family grows weaker after this event, in other words, if Redmond fails to raise the family''s influence, it would be med solely on him, and those who were waiting for an opportunity to drag him down wouldn''t miss this one.


    Although the results depended on the performance of the participants, Redmond would still me. The arguments that would be thrown at him would consist of something like he failed to nurture those talents, and then someone would dere that he wasn''t thinking about the family and only focused on his interest, this he was ipetent.<sub> </sub>


    Redmond knew that denying those ims would be easy, and he could even argue back with more logical arguments, but things wouldn''t certainly stop there, leading to a lot ofplications.


    That was why he thought about having someone who led the new generation, someone that wasn''t influenced by the older generation and waspetent enough to lead the whole family even if he was gone.


    He believed that someone like that would exist among the participants but he also knew that it would be difficult to prepare them for such an important task.


    "Indeed, I wasn''t wrong," Redmond said but it sounded like he was talking to himself. Nheless, he didn''t expect Adam to have already exceeded some of his expectations.


    "Ladies, what do you think of Adam?" Instead of answering Adam''s question, Redmond turned his attention to the twins.


    From their expressions, these two sisters didn''t expect Redmond to be Adam''s uncle, and they also didn''t expect to meet the Lord of the Raizel family in such a way.


    They began to feel extremely nervous in presence of two imposing figures such as Adam and Redmond and they didn''t even make and just listened.


    However, Redmond had unexpectedly inquired about their opinions and they had to answer him.


    Even so, Azalea, in her case, didn''t know exactly what to answer Redmond''s question.


    "H-he is strong," Azalea muttered in a small voice unlike how she usually talked. She was more nervous than she thought she was.


    "Lor-ch Adam is smart!" Rose said, and her voice be high-pitched due to the stress.


    "I see. Do you think that he would be able to help you to get stronger?" Redmond asked with a calm and gentle voice, seeing the twins'' reaction to his question.


    Azalea and Rose nodded in response to Redmond''s question.


    Redmond didn''t know what exactly Adam said to these two nor did he know about what kind of method Adam had in mind to help them, but the twins looked like they trusted Adam.


    Redmond was good at reading people''s expressions, that was why he never judged someone before meeting them, and even though the girls were anxious, he could tell that they weren''t speaking out of fear.


    "Adam, tell me one thing, what is the most important thing for you in this world?" Redmond asked.


    Hearing Redmond''s question, Adam looked surprised for a split second before a smile appeared on his face.


    "Is there anything more important than being able to sleep soundly every night?" Adam answered.


    "Hahaha, I think that''s asking too much," Redmond said, finding Adam''s answer a bit amusing. "I guess you are doing all of this for the sake of this goal too, I am supporting you," he added.


    Urie looked puzzled seeing Redmond and Adam smiling at each other. ''Are they joking around or what?'' She thought to herself.


    Little did she know that the smarter someone had be, the harder was for them to be happy.


    Adam and Redmond knew this and when Adam said these words, he was referring to a moreplicated issue than how it sounded.


    "Is that all you want to discuss?" Adam asked, seeing that Redmond stood up.


    "What? Aren''t you going to say anything about what happened?!" Urie shouted, looking like she couldn''t restrain herself anymore.


    "What are talking about? Everything appears to be fine to me," Redmond said and once again looked at the twins. "What do you think would have happened if he didn''t do anything while he was being insulted? Would thesedies say the same about him as they said earlier? And you, if you were in his ce what would have you done? I believe that you are smart enough to find the answer to these questions by yourself, so I don''t want to talk about this matter again."


    Using rhetorical questions, Redmond the discussion and left with Urie who didn''t look pleased by this oue. Nevertheless, Redmond believed that she would be able to calm down and think rationally after a few days of reflection.

 Chapter 151 The Holy Academys Test

    While the other participants were busy preparing for the test, two days passed by in no time.


    During this time, Rose and Azalea made a lot of improvements but as Adam expected, it was not enough for them to pass the test sessfully.


    Nheless, Adam already expected this and for the sake of his n, the twins must attend the Holy Academy.


    Such a thing wasn''t of course his main concern and during the past few hours, he continued to adjust his ns.


    Moreover, he had also noticed that his acting was still inconsistent so he also worked on it.


    In addition to this, Adam didn''t forget his regr training, such as advanced physical training, meditation, and control.


    Even though he was now thousands of times more powerful than before, he had not yet reached the peak, and it would be no joke if he became weaker because his body couldn''t keep up with his power.


    After finishing all of that, he began to examine the information that Cristal gathered about the Raizel family and also some interesting facts about the Empire.


    Therefore, before he knew it, the time for them to go to the Empire''s Holy Academy hade.


    The test would only begin the next day, but all of the participants must register one day before the first test, which would be a written test, or so it was exined to the participants, but the actual content and the form of the test wasn''t revealed.


    The trainers did their best to prepare the participants but it was not like they could erase the doubt, fear, and anxiety that they were feeling.


    Therefore, the participants were quiet and listened to Urie''s instructions.


    They gathered on the airfield again, like when they first arrived, but this time, the atmosphere was more tense, even though Urie didn''t act as she did before.


    In fact, she looked like she was concerned about the participants and began to give them tips and pieces of advice on how to handle their stress as well as how they should act during the test and after the test.


    Of course, Adam wasn''t in the slightest concerned about the text instead, he was looking forward to seeing what kind of individuals he would need to face in the future.


    He didn''t even join the participants and just stayed inside of his room and followed what was happening through Cristal''s lenses.


    "Well, where should I begin?" Adam mumbled to himself.


    "What are you talking about? So you know, acting like your maid is extremely annoying," ncained.


    "Well, that happens because you don''t have your priorities right. Anyway, you are doing a pretty good job. Still, it seems like this test may reserve a lot of surprises," Adam said.


    "That doesn''t make me happy in the least. Still, I am trusting you, so at least don''t get us killed," nca said and stood up.


    "I can''t afford to die yet," Adam dered and walked towards the door. Urie had finished his speech and the participants were now embarking inside the ships.


    The coordinate to the Holy Academy was transferred inside of the ship''s system so everyone should reach their destination within the same time range.


    Adam and nca would be traveling with Amelia again, but they didn''t meet or talk to each other during thest few hours.


    Amelia had to work and train with everyone else, and like the twins, she struggled with physical training as her gift wasn''t for fighting, to begin with.


    Adam didn''t really care about Amelia as a person but he found it a little bit unfair that the main parts of the test were all about fighting because there were a lot of people who had awesome gifts but couldn''t fight against powerful foes.


    Nheless, the Emperor started that this test would be special and there would be not something simr to this again, thus, he emphasized the fact that those who didn''t manage to pass the test this year could try again the following year.


    Adam had more or less understood why the test was like this, considering the existence of the tinum generation.


    ''Derige Von zenain, huh? The name sounds cool¡­'' Adam thought to himself as he walked with nca beside him. His walking posture was perfect, as he worked hard to make his actions believable.


    "The most powerful person in the Empire is an elemental gift holder. Sounds interesting," He mumbled in a low but enthusiastic voice.


    Adam looked like he didn''t care about the other issues at all, for example, Urie looked like she couldn''t believe Adam''s attitude as he walked without care toward Amelia''s ship.<sub> </sub>


    "Why didn''t you¡­ Tsk!" Urie was about to say something but once Adam turned and look in her direction, she remembered what Redmond said and walked away.


    Without giving a second thought to Urie, Adam also continued to walk to the ship but Amelia looked like she was already inside.


    "What is she trying to do?" Adam sighed after he was notified by Cristal that Amelia tried to leave without them.


    What she didn''t know was that without Cristal, the ship wouldn''t be able to take off.


    Thus, the ship''s main entrance opened as soon as Adam got closer and the ship''s crew, who were forced to follow Amelia''s order, looked surprised by what was happening and somehow relieved.


    However, when Adam and nca boarded the ship, Amelia had already confined herself inside her room.


    Adam didn''t care about her, and as long as she wasn''t affecting his ns, he didn''t feel the need to deal with her for the time being.


    After all, he had other more important things to worry about. Still, he was always on his guard when it came to an unpredictable variable such as Amelia.


    The battle had already begun but he was just going deeper to the heart of the problem.


    "nca, you can die anytime from here but I will make sure that we will live through this, so continue to give it your all. Your life and your sister depend on this," Adam said as the captain activated the hyper-speed engines.


    "That should be my line," nca replied.


    ******


    Once again, the individuals who were considered the protector of the empire, those who were given the title of Guardians we''re gathered around a table.


    The topic of their discussion was, of course, the Holy Academy''s test, and for the first time in a while, all of the ten Guardians were present.


    "So you are here, Derige. Weren''t you busy with your newborn son?" A man who had a charming voice said with a bit of sarcasm.


    Derige didn''t answer and just continued to sit with his arm crossed. He was a hairy man, making his appearance look like an orange Lion who was waiting patiently.


    The guardians were powerful but they were also prideful and arrogant, hence, they saw each other as rivals and rarely had a friendly conversation.


    However, the Holy Academy''s test concerned them all and this was due to the existence of new gift holders.


    "The Emperor announced that a Guardian can only pick 10 participants that will be their direct apprentice after they finished their training at the Academy," the mature woman, who was the only one who appeared to take the meeting seriously spoke.


    She shared information about the Guardians'' role during the test with the others, but they weren''t even listening.


    Most of them were already checking the potential candidates and began to n on how to recruit them.


    "The Guardians shouldn''t interfere, in any way, during the test. Moreover, at least three of them should be present during the whole event," the woman continued.


    Derige looked like he was listening to what the woman was saying, but no one could tell if he wasn''t just asleep despite his serious face.


    Still, this man was known as the strongest even among the Guardians, and even though the others didn''t respect him as a person because they saw him as a challenge to ovee, they respected his power, so no one didn''t dare to challenge him in a serious fight and it was impossible for such a thing to happen within the Empire.


    "In addition to all of that, all of the Guardians need to make a speech at the end of the events. They also¡­"


    "Why do we need to listen to this? Can''t we just enjoy the fight?"


    Feeling bored of listening to all of the instructions, the woman who appeared to be the same age as Ameliained. Though despite her appearance, she was an adult and a lot of people had a horrifying experience after underestimating her.


    "Sigh¡­ This is our job because we are Guardians. At least please pretend to listen like the others and stopining," the mature woman said. She looked like she had already given up on trying to do something about the other Guardian''s attitude.


    She just hoped that they would not cause problems during the test. People looked up to them as they were important figures but they didn''t know that the Guardians were a bunch of troublesome people, or so the woman thought.

 Chapter 152 The Holy Academys Test (Part 2)

    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    As usual, Cristal was very reliable. Thanks to her, I was able to get my hand on some interesting information about the Empire.


    Nheless, seeing the glorious Empire''s capital at its full splendor alone was something worth the trip.


    To be honest, my life at the Holy would have been a very enjoyable experience if I didn''t know about the things that I knew.


    "Well, I am going to enjoy my life to the fullest either way," I mumbled in a low voice.


    "What are you mumbling? It''s pretty creepy sometimes," nca said but her eyes looked like they were glowing.


    "Don''t forget that you are my maid. Stop talking to me unless I ask you a question." I scolded nca but it wasn''t because I was angry.


    I knew from her reaction that she found the Empire quite amazing despite her usual attitude. It had not been ten minutes since we arrived and she already looked like she had a hard time keeping her poker face.


    I couldn''t me her though. The airfield alone was enough to impress Steven Spielberg* if he was here.


    Everything around screamed a futuristic vibe and as if that wasn''t enough, there were many individuals from different species and different races, all acting as if they were enjoying their life to the fullest.


    No wonder the neers get fooled by all of this and get easily swallowed without ever knowing what was happening to them.


    Fortunately, I already knew exactly where should I go and what should I do.


    "It''s time, let''s go."


    After saying these words, I boarded a luxurious vehicle that I customized myself. I had ced it inside the ship without anyone knowing because I knew that there would be no personal transport for the participants unless they were acquainted with some influential noble.


    Hence, they needed to travel using public transportation which was not in the least bad. I wouldn''t be surprised if the Emperor used these means of transportation.


    However, I needed to be above everyone else in everything, and traveling to the Holy Academy on this kind of Bus would make me look like amoner.


    It would have been all right if I yed the prideful young noble with a tragic backstory, but such a thing would lower some people''s opinion of me the way I was now.


    Therefore, I created a vehicle by mixing various designs of popr cars from the earth and created a unique-looking vehicle that was too powerful for what I was going to use it.


    nca and I entered the vehicle and left the airfield without waiting or talking to anyone.


    Amelia was still inside her room, and Cristal confirmed that she was alive and in good health so I didn''t care about what she nned to do with her.


    Nheless, I left a device with a detailed map and some useful information as well as reminders next to her bed, without her knowing it.


    This device would produce a loud and very annoying sound every time she acted like a brat, and it was almost indestructible so she wouldn''t be able to get rid of it. Even if she threw it away, it would alwayse back to her as it was equipped with tracks that would track the chip that I nted inside of her hair.


    "Let''s go to the holy Academy and finish the registration first," I instructed.


    "Roger."


    The care was controlled by Cristal and was fully automated. I was quite impressed by how Cristal could evolve by herself without really needing my help.


    The way she was now, she was more useful than most of the tools that humans could create.


    Nheless, I was already thinking about what I should do if something happened to her, after all, it would be noughing matter if someone manage to ess the data in her possession.


    This was also the reason why I needed to act carefully and avoid exposing her to anything that could be lethal.


    "Wow, it''s really big," nca muttered looking at the city that was colorful and brimming with life. "What? I can talk when I am alone with you right? Don''t worry, I am not stupid," or so she said after I looked at her with an apathetic face.


    "Sigh¡­ Well, this is enormous and this is just one of the popr among the visitors," I exined, taking it easy on nca, knowing that we had just arrived so she was still trying to examine what she was seeing.


    Still, to think that they managed to create artificial rings around this huge sphere, and used the energy produced by the star''s core to generate a shield around the.


    It was not a secret so people already knew that sooner orter, the star''s core would run out of energy, but it seemed like there would move to another when that timees.


    "You are already bored?"<sub> </sub>


    "Well, the scenery is interesting, the flying objects are intriguing, and there are weird-looking people, but that''s all," nca answered.


    "What did you expect?" I asked, wondering about what exactly she wanted to see.


    "Dragon fights? Oh, I also wanted to see giant robots fighting people riding dragons," nca said, looking like her ideas were extremely ingenious and entertaining.


    "This is why I told you to not watch those films. Cristal, don''t let nca watch those films again, she can''t differentiate between fiction and reality."


    "She looked like she was about to die of boredom," Cristal said in an apathetic voice.


    "Hey, Cristal! I had already finished what you asked me to do so I didn''t have anything else to do," nca rebuked but her eyes were wondering as she spoke.


    I was just busy with various things so I asked nca to train by herself but it seemed like she wasn''t training at all.


    I didn''t even know why she tried to hide the fact that she was justzing around though. She was doing a pretty good job so I didn''t intend to scold her or anything.


    I was just wondering about how she perceived the concept of fiction as she must have experienced a lot of insane things during her life.


    "Well¡­ I won''t be surprised if such a thing happens somewhere on this though," I added.


    After that, we continued to chat for a while and before we know it, we had already reached our destination.


    "We are here, master," Cristal announced.


    "This is the beginning of the end," I said and adjusted my clothes and my hair. I knew that my words didn''t have any deep meaning but I just felt like it was appropriate for the situation.


    "¡­" nca didn''t say anything and just looked indifferent.


    Seeing her, I smiled and opened the vehicle''s door.


    There were already a lot of people strolling in and out of the Academy''s main gate and that wasn''t surprising.


    The Holy Academy was not a single building but something simr to a floating ind that had a castle on top of it.


    It had everything needed for a person to receive the perfect education and unlock their full potential.


    Moreover, there were special means of transport used to explore the area and the usage of unauthorized vehicles was prohibited.


    Nheless, there was no rule prohibiting me from using my cape to transport myself.


    Therefore, even when I exited the vehicle, I didn''t step on the ground and just floated above it.


    Unlike me, nca couldn''t fly without activating her power so I made a t ck square appear below her feet.


    The vehicles left as soon as we begin to move forward. I asked Cristal to wait for us at a certain location and prepare various things for the next step of our n.


    As expected, though, people were looking at me and of course, I made sure that they weren''t disappointed when they did.


    There were few nobles with their attendants and maids, but nca was special in every way and so was I.


    Her outfit was designed by me, using the most elegant but modern design that I could remember and adapted it to this world of fashion, making it look at the same time, ssy and original.


    Well, even without the outfit, only was the only one that was at the same level as her when it came to natural beauty, my mother was not included.


    As for me, I adjusted my outfit to fit me perfectly and go well with the tone of my cape.


    I could hear the chatters of the bystanders but as an elite, I kept myposure and didn''t show any excessive expression, behavior, or emotions.


    The only problem was that the usage of my power was restricted while I wore the cape.


    It wasn''t like I could use it at all, and like when I trained with the tinum sword, I just made sure that my nullification ability didn''t touch the cape. It needed a lot of focus but there was no telling when someone would some kind of metal ability or invisible attack against me.

 Chapter 153 The Holy Academy’s Test (Part 3)

    :::[Third Person POV]:::


    A few minutes before Adam''s arrival, a lot of impressive people had already made their way through the gate.


    After all, talents from every corner of the universe were gathered in one ce for this day.


    Therefore, even though Adam''s arrival was impactful, it wasn''t also enough for him to build a proper image of superiority.


    Nheless, people were taken aback by Adam''s handsomeness and nca''s beauty.


    Even among the impressive-looking neers, there wasn''t anyone as beautiful as these two.


    Adam predicted this oue but what he didn''t take into ount was that people were also attracted by beautiful things. Therefore, rather than his impressive presence, charisma, and extremely mysterious ability, his external appearance, precisely his face, had more impact on people''s opinion of him and was engraved into their minds.


    Making his way to the library where all of the participants needed to register for the uing test, Adam began to observe his surrounding.


    He was amazed by how far the gap between the technology used here and the most advanced technology on earth was. It made the invention of the satellite seem like child''s y.


    The theme of fantasy was made so that it blended well with how the most advanced civilization of this universe should be portrayed. The result didn''t disappoint, at least, it was something that Adam had found impressive.


    Nevertheless, he didn''t let any of that show on his face as continued to move forward.


    The Holy Academy was constituted of bits ofnd that floated in the air. These pieces ofnd were not of the same size and Adam was currently at the entrance.


    Even though it was just the entrance and had a huge majestic gate, the area around it was almost as big as a whole city.


    Hence, to travel to the next destination, which was the library, people had to travel through a transparent tube made of extremely durable material, so that the vehicle could travel at full speed.


    These tubes connected the Holy Academy and were also a way to check everyone who visited the area.


    After all, the whole floating ind was protected by an invisible shield. It was said that there are a lot of valuable resources, and knowledge contained inside the Library.


    As such, even though some part of the library was essible to the public, the number of visitors per day was limited.


    In addition to this, there was a pathway that was built differently from the tubes and was designed for visitors who preferred walking on foot and enjoying the scenery.


    Apart from the library, some of the pieces ofnd that was part of the Academy didn''t all have structures built on top of them. There were beautiful forests full of exotic nts and animals, and also a lot of open airfields for students to enjoy their breaks.


    ess to this area was restricted but visitors could take a look at this beautiful scenery while walking if they wanted to.


    All of this intrigued Adam but he still had a lot of things to do so he decided to take the fastest way.


    There was only one vehicle for each tube and it took ten to fifteen minutes to travel from one area to another. Moreover, unless the person was part of the royal family, everyone got the same treatment.


    Nheless, if he used this vehicle to move around on his first day,  Adam feel like he would be seen as simr to everyone else.


    Still, he wasn''t yet as important as the Royal family and he wasn''t also a teacher from the Academy so for him to get special treatment was unlikely.


    Looking at the people who were lining up, waiting for their turn to use the vehicle, Adam already knew what he needed to do.


    After all, if he ended up liking it there, taking the other pathway would have been a better choice.


    ''Okay, it''s time to teleport,'' Adam thought to himself.


    Of course, he couldn''t teleport himself or someone else but it was not like it was impossible for him to at least make it look like he teleported.


    Indeed, special people got special treatment but people with special abilities could deal with every situation in a special way.


    Because of this, all of the people who were following Adam''s every movement felt like they were hallucinating.


    Some rubbed their eyes, some asked the people next to them if they saw the same thing and there were who pretended to not see anything.


    No one could me them for their reactions though, after all, two people who were there a second ago disappeared without a trace.


    People were already wondering what Adam was doing when he rose to the sky, but then he disappeared with nca.<sub> </sub>


    "What happened?"


    "Who are they?"


    Within the few minutes after Adam''s disappearance, people began to chatter and rumors began to circte.


    At the same time, the defense department of the Holy Academy received an alert that they had never encountered since the implementation of the invisible field around the Academy.


    "Sir, this is! There was a breach in the barrier!"


    In the past, multiple individuals attempted to bypass the inspection at the gate, but they never managed to make it past the barrier.


    Consequently, all of the personnel working to maintain the security around the Academy were just surprised. They were all qualified for their job, but it was not an umon urrence for some of them to retire without anything much happening.


    Most of the high-ranked officers who liked exploration and bloody fights against monsters treated the job of the head of this department as a joke.


    Still, if monsters managed to reach the Empire''s main, the Holy Academy would be one of the Empire''sst lines of defense.


    Moreover, assuring the security of the students was something that shouldn''t be taken lightly as they were the future of the empire. Some wanted to erase those talents while they were young and the Holy Academy had the responsibility to not let this happen.


    Considering all of that, it made sense that they knew all of the people who passed through the gate.


    Thus, the breach in the barrier was something that shouldn''t be taken lightly.


    "Dispatch the ck Troops immediately!" The head of the department ordered. "Search every corner of the Holy Academy and if you found someone suspicious who can''t prove their identity, kill them!"


    This high-ranked officer couldn''t let this incident bring shame to his name because on top of being demoted, he would end up as aughing stock if he didn''t find the culprit or find the origin of this problem as fast as possible.


    After all, this was his only job, and for him to fail his duties was not something he could afford to let happen.


    Unfortunately for them, Adam was not someone that they could handle. While they were searching around the area where the breach was detected, Adam had already arrived at the library.


    What he did was simple, he used Cristal''s ability to turn invisible on him and nca. In other words, he finally developed a full-body suit that used reflection and dynamic LEDs, added with Cristal''s 360-degree visions and nanoparticles, to make perfect replicates of everything behind him and around him while he was moving.


    Nheless, he just needed the tip of his finger to create a thinyer of Dark matter that made a hole in the barrier as if he was delicately making a circle on a ss.


    Of course, the barrier would reconstruct itself, so Adam blocked the Darkmatter and passed through it easily.


    He was fully aware of what he was doing but instead of being treated like everyone else, he found it more fitting to go where he wanted to go without any time as no one could restrict him.


    If they didn''t want him to use his ability to do whatever he wanted to get the result appropriate for his status, then they could have given him special treatment, or so he thought.


    Nheless, he knew that he was being unreasonable, but the way he was now, he could let anyone look down on him for something as simple as traveling inside of a crowded vehicle.


    In other words, those who didn''t take this public transportation were already one step ahead of everyone else.


    Their performance during the test would change a lot of things, of course, but as an elite of the elite, Adam couldn''t afford to ignore such a thing.


    Thus, everyone looked up to the sky as Adam descended as if he was an angel who was sent from heaven.


    His cape almost looked like beautiful wings and his face radiated an aura of holiness.


    Again, Adam wanted to make an impressive appearance but people''s reactions were slightly different from his expectations.


    No one knew where he came from but his feet had only touched the ground when he was in front of the Holy Library''s entrance.


    Bianca standing next to him made the scene more impressive than it already was.


    "Hey, you! Where did youe from?"


    Nheless, there were always fools who got ahead of themselves because of their ignorance. Just because his name and abilities were not known to the public, Adam found it a little bit annoying to see people who couldn''t assess his capabilities just by seeing him.

 Chapter 154 The Holy Academys Test (Part 4)

    "Hey, stop!"


    One of the members of the so-called ck Troops tried to stop Adam from entering the library.


    This man was tasked to find and investigate anyone that appeared suspicious, and unlike anyone else, Adam came down from the sky.


    His arrival might have been an impactful one, but from this soldier''s point of view, it was extremely suspicious.


    Nheless, despite his ignorance, this man could be considered a fool as he didn''t even try to see Adam from a point of view of a high-level gift holder.


    In his mind, Adam was whether a simple student or a culprit to be caught.


    This soldier, like some people who were present there, thought that Adam was just an unknown noble who tried to stand out. His handsomeness annoyed them, and the fact that he was with nca made them more irritated.


    These people were those who wanted to stand out themselves but were also afraid to be treated as an outsider by everyone else. In other words, they were those who didn''t appreciate their way of life but were scared to make some changes.


    Consequently, Adam who stood out from everyone else was at the center of the intention and some people were trying to find ways to criticize in their mind.


    The royal family was different because they were royal families, or so these people told themselves, but anyone else who tried to stand out must be some kind of clown and deserve to be exposed and humiliated.


    Hence, some people began to smirk when they saw Adam being intercepted by the soldier.


    However, unlike what most people expected, Adam didn''t even pay attention to the soldier and continued to walk.


    He walked as if he didn''t acknowledge the existence and the opinion of everyone else around him. Without saying anything, he made it clear that he was above everyone else.


    Nevertheless, some people would never acknowledge such a thing because their perception and knowledge were limited.


    Thus, feeling enraged and humiliated by Adam''s attitude the man wanted to rush at Adam, grab him from behind, and immobilize him. The thought of asking Adam his ID like a civilized person didn''t cross his mind at all.


    In the first ce, Adam already know that he wasn''t the person that should check his ID, so having his ID checked by an unqualified person would also reflect badly on his image, making him look like some kind of criminal.


    "Hey-" The man thought that it was time to disy his power and show that students were just students.


    In the end, however, he didn''t even manage to move from where he stood. There was something invisible preventing his feet from moving and his body felt extremely heavy.


    Adam didn''t react and didn''t turn back, making it seem like the soldier was talking to himself this whole time.


    *****


    The interior of the library was spacious and was almost as big as a whole town. Compared to it, the Royal Library of Kepalta looked like a small room.


    It would take a couple of days for a person to tour the whole area and that was only if they didn''t take a look at interesting books on the way.


    Adam knew where he needed to go but there were already a lot of people inside the library.


    Most of them were participants but some senior students were visiting the library out of curiosity.


    Nheless, some were there to look for books and archives and some of them were high-level, gift holders. There were even those who used their power to move around and reach the higher section of the enormous bookshelves.


    From this, Adam concluded that the books on the lower part of the bookshelves weremonly used books, but those at the top were more valuable, thus only those who could reach the higher section would be able to browse through them.


    As such, Adam floated in mid-air again and advanced slowly while observing his surroundings. Of course, he did let any excessive expression appear on his face, and his objective was to finish the registration as fast as possible.<sub> </sub>


    It seemed like there were various registration points scattered all around the area of the library to speed up the process.


    Still, Adam could also see that there were groups of people who were chattering among themselves all around the library.


    From the look of it, there was always one person at the center of those groups who appeared to be some kind of talented individual from an influential family.


    While looking at these groups of people, Adam noticed that one of the registration points wasn''t used despite being avable, but he could see that this was due to the presence of a group of people near it.


    Moreover, the spot where this registration was situated appeared to be the best in the library. It even had beautiful seats, tables, and a section where students could buy luxurious sweets.


    ''Are they monopolizing this area?'' Adam thought to himself looking at what was happening.


    To his surprise, he also recognized the silhouette of one person. Still, everyone else knew who she was, and the two men wearing shiny silver armor who appeared a bit out of ce in this modern world had already attracted people''s attention before Adam was even aware of her presence.


    Still, it was not like Adam was interested in other people than those he already loved. As such, after making sure that there was no suspicious presence, activity, or aura within the library, he had already lost interest in everything else.


    The books were sure interesting, but with his ability, it would even take him a week to gather all of the necessary information inside them with Cristal''s help.


    ''So she is the emperor''s daughter, Neige,'' Adam identified the person and had already begun to observe her. After all, she could be a key element of his n, depending on the background story.


    Neige headed straight to the registration point at the best spot in the library, and no one dared to say anything.


    Nheless, some looked at her with vicious thoughts and other hidden ideas inside their mind even if they appeared to be some bystanders who looked at a celebrity passing by.


    Neige was now a student after all, and this year''s test was special and she had to participate.


    Adam had already thought about various possibilities just from this one detail. Why did her father allow her daughter to take part in this take knowledge about the various possible oues? Was he confident in his daughter''s ability or was there something else?


    In other words, he needed to know, how the emperor saw Neige. After all, it might be a small detail, but it could be rted to bigger issues. And if he could prevent everything else by resolving this issue, it would save him a lot of time, or so Adam thought.


    However, he knew that things weren''t that simple, and if the emperor treated Neige badly, it wasn''t like he could do anything for her, and he wouldn''t hesitate to eliminate her for the sake of the world.


    At least, the world would not be destroyed, but Adam didn''t care about what happened as long as he got to live a reasonably happy life with his family without caring about the God of destruction.


    ''Not good, I am thinking too much. It''s not the time for that now,'' Adam thought and headed toward the popr spot where those who considered themselves at the top of the hierarchy gathered.


    Adam already knew that this was the reason why the other students who were not confident in their status, ability, or just wanted to be left alone chose to not even pass by this area.


    Not that Adam cared about such a thing though. These kids were just kids in front of his eyes, and even he, a thirty years old guy who experienced insane situations that these kids would never believe even if it was told to them, considered himself as still ipetent in various areas.


    Thus, whatever these kids thought about him or guessed about him didn''t matter at all. In every aspect, he was above them and he acted ording to his status, nothing more nothing less.


    He was a Lord, a genius, a fighter, a brother, a son, and a friend, so it was not like there was anything else that he wanted from them apart from the respect that he deserved. After all, no one could be his lover among them, and apart from respect, that was the only thing Adam wanted.


    In other words, the character that he was ying was actually how he should have always acted in the first ce.


    That was why he didn''t have a hard time ying the character and felt that things should continue this way.


    After that, Adamnded elegantly on the ground and walked toward the registration point, following Neige.

 Chapter 155 The Holy Academys Test (Part 5)

    Fame, influence, Adam didn''t yet have or experienced all of these and no one knew his name.


    His appearance and attitude might have been outstanding but in the end, it was his status as a student which was used to identify him.


    To be precise, the gap between him and those who were present inside the library was so big that they didn''t even notice Adam''s aura as he didn''t disy it explicitly like before.


    As such, the kids who considered themselves the top students, along with the neers who thought that they would be the new top students, red at Adam as hended elegantly on the ground.


    Some of the most popr kids begin to ask if someone among them knew Adam but as expected, it wasn''t the case.


    Still, it was not like they could stop him from using the registration point. Nheless, some of them hated Adam''s guts and had already thought about how to make his life miserable just because he ignored their existence.


    These kids were already exposed to the Empire''s rotten side and so, their mindset was already wicked.


    They felt the need of being validated by their surrounding, getting praised and worshipped endlessly. Therefore, they couldn''t stand the fact that someone that was below them dared to ignore their existence.


    What they didn''t know, of course, was that the individual in front of them could destroy the whole Empire if he wanted to.


    Nheless, even though they were observing Adam and tried to find ws, they didn''t find any. His attitude, his appearance, and everything about him appeared to have almost reached a higher level of perfection.


    Moreover, Adam didn''te with many attendants but only had nca with him. Still, nca alone was enough to make the perverted boys who grew up in a nasty environment droll.


    They began to look at her with lustful eyes and imagined unspeakable things. If they continued on that path, however, their end wouldn''t be so agreeable, Adam would make sure of it.


    Ignoring all of that, Adam headed to the registration point, and he was more interested in Neige.


    For the Emperor''s daughter toe to the library herself, was it because the Emperor wanted to show that his daughter would receive the same treatment as the others? And even if that was the case, what was the point?


    It could be also Neige''s own choice, and in that case, what would the point be that she wanted to prove?


    Adam began to connect the dots, knowing that as an apprentice of the Holy Mother, Neige was an important individual, but the girl in front of him didn''t give off that impression.


    Maybe, after encountering an extremely powerful for like Rudeus anyone below that level didn''t even make him feel anything, or so Adam thought, but still, if she was restraining her power at that moment to be able to move around freely, then she shouldn''t be underestimated.


    Nevertheless, Adam didn''t feel the need to talk to this princess, so he just approached the registration device beside her.


    Neige was a bit surprised and looked at Adam, but Adam didn''t even take a nce at her.


    Such an action would be considered disrespectful if the circumstances were different, but at that moment, Adam was more respectful toward the princess than those who looked at her with judgmental eyes, or while having perverted thoughts.


    Adam didn''t know what Neige''s circumstances were, and he didn''t care, but from what he could see, she was a student, and there was no reason for him to get involved with her needlessly.


    Seeing Adam''s attitude, Neige looked like she was thinking about something but no one saw a change in her expression, and she immediately shifted her attention to the registration device.


    "ID confirmed. Wee to the Holy Academy, Adam Von Kepalta. You can now consult the detailed schedule of the test inside the device below. Along with your ID, it''s one of the¡­"


    "ID confirmed. Wee to the Holy Academy, Neige Vyh Emporora¡­"


    After finishing the registration process, Adam grabbed the device that looked like a smartphone and was about to leave.


    Still, he felt like Neige was looking at him once again, and he was sure that she was curious about his name. Thus, he nced back at her out of curiosity, and their eyes meet.


    They stared at each other for a few seconds, without saying anything, and then Adam continued to walk away.


    He noticed that the guards who came with Neige were also ring at him but with gazes full of killing intent.


    Adam knew that these guards were from the Holy Church and considered Neige as a special individual, so they were overprotective of her for no apparent reason.


    However, since Adam and the other students weren''t doing anything wrong, they kept their calm, but these people thought that unqualified people shouldn''t even approach or look at Neige.


    Though, whatever their thoughts or beliefs, Adam didn''t even bother to remember that they existed.


    He didn''t antagonize the Empire, but he wasn''t going to let anyone look down on him.


    The way he was now, he wasn''t even against the idea of destroying the whole empire and finishing the job faster by forcing the one who pull the strings from behind the scene toe out.


    Nheless, he wanted to prove that he could be a better version of himself first, and that was why he decided to take things to step by step. That way, he would learn and grow stronger mentally and physically.


    There was indeed an advantage in bing stronger in a short amount of time and immediately using this power to make one''s dreame true, but growing stronger step by step was also another path that required determination.<sub> </sub>


    Moreover, it was not like an individual would be satisfied and live a happy life whichever path they chose, and in the end, everything they aplished might be for naught.


    Adam, for one thing, was not yet satisfied with his current self as he saw that he could still develop, and he believed that whatever these people thoughts about him wouldn''t allow him to do that. Therefore, it was not even worth it to let their presence stay in his memory.


    Neige, however, was a different case, and her connection with the Holy Mother was something that Adam couldn''t ignore even if Neige as an individual was not as impressive as nca or Liu.


    Well, she was still young, or so Adam thought. It seemed like he was used to seeing nca and Liu so he became immune to other women''s charms, particrly if they could still be considered a kid.


    ''Well, getting entangled with troublesome women and their problems is never a good thing unless I am prepared to spend most of my time dealing with that,'' Adam thought to himself. ''And unless it''s Liu, I would never do that. It''s a pain¡­''


    It was his choice to consider Liu as someone special, thus he made the promise to himself that he would always prioritize her over other people. It was not like he expected Liu to reciprocate his feelings, and he also knew that he would not be able to give her a happy life if he didn''t solve his problems first, so in a way, it was just his one-sided feelings.


    ? ''Some people would call me stupid if they hear that, but if I asked them if they would be happy with five wives, I bet they would say yes. That''s how stupid these people are. If you can''t even be happy with one wife, how can you make five happy? Oh! My thoughts wandered too far again¡­''


    One minute hadn''t even passed but Adam had already managed to think about various topics and make a short analysis of various theories.


    It was not that time stopped, it was just that his thought process was too fast, and sometimes, he needed to keep his thoughts in check or he would end up thinking about unnecessary things.


    When Adam was about to leave, a group of soldiers came rushing and surrounded nca and him.


    "¡­" Adam knew that the foolish soldier didn''t learn from his mistake and he was disappointed, but he didn''t let any expression appear on his face.


    People began to get curious about what was happening, and when the soldiers entered the library in such a rough manner, a crowd followed them like a bunch of brainless ants. Curiosity was certainly one of the main reasons for premature death.


    "Do you need something from my master?" nca walked forward and asked the Head of the Library''s Security department.


    Unable to find any leads, the only clue they had was the report from a soldier who spotted Adaming down from the sky. He also emphasized the fact that Adam was suspicious, and just by looking at his clothes he was sure that he was the culprit.


    Indeed, this soldier wasn''t wrong, but his failure to make a wiser judgment would cost him his life someday.


    "Take him into custody! We will interrogate him thoroughly!" The bulky man who wore a fancy military uniform ordered.


    Adam knew that something like this would happen if he breached the barrier, but he didn''t expect them to take such a dramatic measure without even knowing his identity.


    From this alone, Adam managed to reach various conclusions about how things worked within the Holy Academy.


    ''It looks like the Holy Academy isn''t as impressive as it appears,'' he thought, but from everyone else''s point of view, the soldier who was trying to intimidate Adam were incredible, with their tall stature, sma swords, and shiny armor equipped with a special Gravitum engine that gave them the ability to fly.


    What these people didn''t know, of course, was that they were giving Adam the perfect opportunity to establish a proper image for himself. What he did might have been silly and, at the same time, ingenious, but he was killing two birds with one stone.


    As such, before the soldiers reached him, Adam reached his hands.


    "Enough," he said in a peaceful voice but it echoed through the library and made everyone feel pressured.


    The soldiers looked like they were frozen in time, even though Adam just muttered a few words.


    After that, nca walked toward the high-ranked officer and when she arrived in front of this tall man, a mysterious force pulled him down to his knees.


    After that, nca activated the device that Adam had just received.


    "Adam Von Kepalta. 16 years old. The current Lord of Kep. Authorized to take part in the Holy Academy''s test¡­"


    The device show Adam''s face, his title, and various information about him.


    That should have been enough to prove Adam''s identity, but what was happening was just too humiliating for the high-ranked officer and the other soldiers, but it was not like they could do anything.


    Even Neige''s bodyguard was about to intervene, but Neige shook her head. She was by no means scared, and she didn''t believe that her bodyguards were weak, but the man standing in front of him was just at a different level.


    She was smart enough to notice that all of the immobilized soldiers were at least level 7 gift-holders and they wouldn''t be stopped by just a few words.


    Looking at Adam leaving, Neige began to doubt if she could manage to take the first rank during the test, and this was the first that such a thought crossed her mind.


    The soldiers were able to move after Adam left, but their faces were full of anger, and almost forgot Neige''s presence.


    "You should base your actions on meticulous discernment next time," Neige said to the high-ranked officer and left.


    The officer didn''t even have the chance to say anything during all of that. He made fool of himself and it was not his fault. He was just unlucky.

 Chapter 156 The Holy Academys Test (Part 6)

    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    Thinking back about what happened, breaching that barrier was not an absolute necessity, but still, I managed to take advantage of the situation.


    The whole Holy Academy business was not the main focus of my ns for the time being, but depending on the evolution of the situation things might change.


    As such, I couldn''t let anyone treat me as a mere student. After all, that could lead me to be involved in various forms of annoying things.


    ''Still, I am quite curious about that princess. She didn''t appear to be that surprised even after seeing my power. As expected, an elite would never let anyone read their intention easily.''


    Well,pared to the brainless kids, Neige''s presence was more impactful despite not doing anything much. It might be because of her status and background, but she could be considered an elite.


    The difference between her and me was her status and fame, but it was still significant.


    ''I need to aplish something that will go down in the Empire''s history,'' or so I concluded.


    My n was divided into three main parts and I had to create three different characters to fully take control of the Empire.


    My status as an elite and a rising star that would impact the future of the Empire was one thing, but there was also another aspect that I needed to deal with.


    "Where are we going?" nca asked, looking like she began to feel annoyed.


    After reaching the Holy Academy''s gate, Cristal was already waiting for nca and me, so she might have thought we would finally rest for the day.


    "Don''t worry, we will go have some fun tonight," I said with a smile on my face.


    "Fun? When you say something with that smile on your face, it is never a good thing," nca mumbled. I wondered why she disliked my charming smile.


    "What are talking about? A lot of money is a good thing, right?" I answered.


    "What does money have to do with good things? Most of the time, greed only leads to destruction."


    "Mmm? I didn''t expect to hear such a line from you," I said, wondering about what nca thought about the concept of money and wealth.


    Nheless, her opinion didn''t have anything to do with the progression of the n.


    "How exactly do you picture me in your head? I feel like sometimes yourments are extremely irritating," ncained.


    "Well, anyway, it''s time for us to make some money. Whatever you think about money is okay, but for the sake of the n, a lot of money is needed. To be precise, we need the status of an influential man who is cunning and wealthy. This is the second part of the n," I exined.


    Even though I was an elite in the eyes of the public, that status alone wouldn''t enough to take control of the underground or dark side of the Empire.


    Consequently, I would need to deal with the dark side simultaneously as I made progress on growing my influence within the Empire.


    Doing so would give me more perspective on what was happening within the Empire from every side and would help me to bring further adjustments to my n when needed.


    "Okay, put this on and change your clothes," I said.


    "What? I-"


    I didn''t say anything and just looked at nca in the eyes, seeing how she was about toin after I gave her new instructions.


    After seeing my expression, it seemed like she understood the situation and decided to cooperate.


    "I am d that you understand that we are not ying around. I am just making it sound funny because I don''t want it to sound boring, but what we are doing now is something of extreme importance," or so I said, but I also knew that what was important for me might not be so important for others.


    Saving the world? Getting a loving wife? Spending time with a wonderful family? Is a mind free of anxiety? Not everyone wanted those things.<sub> </sub>


    "I know, but I still find your methods quite annoying sometimes," nca replied.


    From her reply, I wouldn''t be surprised if she was thinking about barging into the Emperor''s room and forcing him to tell her everything she needed to know.


    Well, she might not be that stupid, or so I hoped, but everyone had their mindset so I wasn''t ming her. I just found her reaction quite annoying too.


    "Well, you need to learn to bear with it from now on. Anyway, I will exin the n now," I said.


    Then, I begin to give nca the simplified version of the second part of the n.


    "Our destination is an undercover auction," I began.


    The Empire might look like a city of hope and freedom, as well as a Holy Land, but this was just a part of what made the Empire what it truly was, and who was rotting from inside.


    "Auction?"


    "Yes, we will auction this," I said, showing nca an item that I asked Cristal to put inside of a safe container.


    The n was simple, and some people would think that it was too simple and likely to fail. However, there was a difference between thinking about a n and having the ability to execute it perfectly.


    Taking control of the Empire by controlling its dark side. Anyone would find that silly or extremely delusional, but that was only because they thought that something like that was possible never cross their mind. Well, even if they did, they weren''t me, so it wasn''t possible for them.


    "Don''t tell me¡­" Looking at the item, nca reacted as if she understood something but I knew that her guess was probably wrong so I continued my exnation.


    "This auction would serve as the starting ground for this new character. Nheless, we need a certain intelligence to keep acting like two different personalities. I am sure you can do it though," I said, knowing that nca wouldn''t need to act at all in this second part.


    The questions that the people lurking in the dark would want to know whether saw a neer were, from which family was this person? In other words their origin? What were their total assets? What kind ofwork where they connected to, or who backed them? How could I take advantage of him, and if they pose a threat, how to make sure that they disappear?


    Thus, it would be hard for normal people to reach a certain influence within with undergroundmunity as they would be exploited before they could even manage to make profits from the vast resources that the dark side of the Empire had to offer.


    Nheless, an individual could do anything they wanted as long as they were beyond the rules. After all, even though there were unwritten rules that were respected in thismunity, the existingmunity itself was against the rule.


    As such, no matter what happens, no one couldin, and if someone had the power to do whatever they want, whenever they want, another unwritten rule would be created. A rule that would warn anyone from messing with this individual.


    In thismunity, an individual could do whatever they wanted if they had a lot of money, a lot of power individuals under theirmand, and a vastwork of information.


    Therefore, it was easy for me to be an individual that could create a new rule.


    Money wasn''t a problem. Cristal could hack the Imperial bank if that was needed, but I could probably make more money than the Imperial Bank by myself if that was the goal.


    Moreover, Cristal''s ability to collect and analyze information was something that even I couldn''t part with. I was trying to find a way to make up for this in case something happened to Cristal, but I didn''t find a better alternative yet.


    In addition to these, nca was enough to take care of any threat at Linda''s level, at least he was she was now, so I wasn''t concerned about that aspect.


    Considering all of that, the only thing that needed to be taken care of was my image and first impression.


    "What is that look?" nca remarked seeing that my appearance and my face hadpletely changed.


    "This is something that I recently created for the sake of this n. You might not be familiar with nanotechnology and hologram but this technology makes use of these two elements to create apletely new appearance. I even enhanced it to make it feel like human skin," I exined.


    "The blonde hair is too much though¡­ It looks cheap," ncamented.


    "That''s just your personal opinion. You are so used to seeing my handsome face and my back hair. Still, I needed to adjust my appearance ording to the age of this character that we will call Johnny Sylvester," I said.

 Chapter 157 The Holy Academys Test (Part 7)

    ''What does a viin fear?''


    For me to aplish my dreams, I would certainly trample many people''s dreams even though they were scums.


    Would I not gather the resentment of such a people if I did that, or so I thought.


    To save the world, I had to destroy the world that those people had created, and erase the possibility of the birth of the woman who would bring all life forms in this universe to extinction.


    Indeed, a normal person wouldn''t even think about such a thing. People believe that changing the world was such a childish dream for young and ignorant people. However, the truth was that those who thought of themselves as adults realized that they would never be able to change the world, and in the end, they gave up.


    Indeed, the world would never change, nor did it need to be saved. This world was created so that the cycle would never end.


    Humans search for every form of happiness and in the end realize that happiness was just a matter of perception and mindset.


    In other words, it was a never-ending loop in which, humans and all the intelligent lifeforms try to confirm the purpose of their existence.


    The question was, what did this realization have to do with my current ns?


    "nca, do you know what viins fear?" I asked.


    "Viins? I am not sure how to answer this question," nca replied, looking puzzled by my question.


    "Okay, let''s take a simple example. There was a poor man who struggled to find what to feed his family. During a certain winter, the man decided that he would sell off thends that were thest of the value he had, and his main source of ie. However, he was told that the entire area had now belonged to a Lord who bought the Lands without the inhabitants'' knowing. These people cultivated thends for a long time, but they never knew that thesends could be bought from the government. The poor man and his family perished because of this. Now, what do you think? Is the Lord a viin?"


    "I don''t understand what you are trying to say. I think that some things are the result of unfortunate coincidences¡­"


    "You might be right, but what I am trying to say is that, sometimes, when people are faced with an extremely tough situation, they tend to think that the person that the person who was the origin of their misery is a viin. On the other hand, however, real viins are pretty normal. Thus, there''s a difference between being perceived as a viin and being a real viin," I added.


    "Y-yeah¡­ I still don''t see your point though," nca said.


    "The point is that people believe that the people acting like viins are truly vicious viins, but most of them are not, it''s just that their actions bring nothing good to the unlucky victims. The real viins, however, are showing their faces proudly in public. In your opinion, which of these two types of viins are in control?"


    "I don''t know¡­"


    "Haha, it seems like my exnation was tooplicated. To put it simply, there are two types of viins: People who want to obtain more than they already have, and those who want to achieve their desire by controlling others," I exined. "The first type of people are those who are perceived as viins by society. The greedy Lords, the corrupt officer, and so on¡­ On the other hand, the true viins hide in everyone''s sight."


    "I get it, but you talk too much so I have a hard time keeping up with your exnation¡­"


    "nca, what viins fear is someone who doesn''t have anything to hide."


    "What? Wouldn''t that make them more vulnerable¡­ Like their weakness


    "That''s what normal people think indeed. But think about this. Let''s say that a viin has so much wealth that he has control over the ck market. What if someone who can buy the whole country where this ck market operates appears? Moreover, this person is also part of the undergroundmunity. Do you get it now? There''s no need to hide your power if you know that no one would manage to reach your level¡­"


    "That''s why, no matter how vicious or cunning a person is, there is nothing they can do about an individual who is above them in every way. Well, It''s extremely simple, but I just wanted to talk about the real goal behind our action so that you understand theplexity of the n. Well, even though it''s simple, as it just consists of a disy of overwhelming power, it''s not like everyone can do it. Don''t think that anyone else could do it just because they are strong," I exined.


    Nheless, the scale of things wasn''t at the level of a mere country. The Empire was the heart of this world, and it was not even an exaggeration to say that it had control over it.


    As such, the dark side of the Empire would be at a different scale than just the gathering of a few greedy pigs. Just the existence of this side of the Empire proves that the Emperor wasn''t as powerful as he appeared unless he was also in control of the dark side.<sub> </sub>


    Well, if that was the case, then it would make things easier but I doubted it. Most of the influential people in the Empire were certainly rted to the dark side in one way or another though.


    ''I am going to press them from both sides. Two extremely powerful individuals appear at the same time. It would certainly draw the attention of some people, but that''s not a bad thing. It will be already toote when they realize it. After all, I am sure that I will have already found the mysterious dweller at that time, and merging both sides of the Empire would be simple if I use my cards well. For example, starting a revolution!''


    All of that was of course a cover for the main mission which was the subjugation of any entity that could lead to the destruction of this world. After that, I would focus on my own goal and find a way to create the world that my family and my future wife deserved to live in. Then, I would be done.


    It sounded a bit simple when I put it that way, but also a bit silly or unrealistic. That was why it was challenged. If I could save the world, why wouldn''t I be able to live the I dreamed of?


    "Okay, it''s time to begin," I said as the car arrived in front of a certain skyscraper.


    The location was right in the middle of the city and it belonged to an organization rted to one of the Guardians.


    There was a secret pathway somewhere inside this building but the participants in the secret auction must first get their identity checked.


    "Good afternoon, what is the purpose of your visit?"


    After entering the building, I strolled nonchntly to the receptionist.


    I wasn''t in my usual uniform, and my body and appearance werepletely different. I now looked like one of these tall and muscr Hollywood celebrities, and my name was Johnny Sylvester.


    My outfit was still elegant, and I was wearing a coat on top of my perfect and expensive-looking ck costume.


    All of the essories on me, my watch, my sunsses, and my nes, were unique and priceless. I created them myself, using extremely rare materials, such as high-level monsters core, a metal that I created by messing around with the Dark matter, and so on.


    Nheless, I was now ying a carefree character who always had a smile on my face.


    Next to me was Cristal with a variant of her usual outfit, and nca who was disguised as a short-haired woman with pink hair.


    I also made her wear a ck and extremely sexy dress, but not vulgar enough for filthy pigs to see her body.


    "Well, do you not know why we are here?" Or so I said with a smile and ced the invitation for the auction on the desk with an unwavering smile on my face.


    Nheless, I could see that the receptionist was judging me. Well, she wouldn''t be the if she couldn''t do that much.


    "Don''t worry, I just decided to pass by here because I was curious. You see, I get disappointed easily," or so I said with a smile, and my words weren''t directed at the receptionist herself.


    "Thanks for your patience. Here''s your badge," the receptionist said with a business smile on her face.


    After that, we were escorted by two strong-looking men who would certainly intimidate a lot of people.


    Moreover, I was sure that what I said earlier was already reported to the higher-ups.


    They would certainly be aware of me because I was new, and new people passed by the receptionist because they weren''t given a special badge yet.


    ''Good, I just hope someone wouldn''t be stupid enough to provoke me today. Well, epting that they can''tpete with me at all would be hard for them though.''

 Chapter 158 The Holy Academys Test (Part 8)

    :::[Third Person POV]:::


    Inside a room filled with a particr of most generated by some kind of boiled liquid, a man was sitting on a luxurious chair surrounded by attractive females from different species.


    The man who looked like one of these professional businessmen on Earth had a device simr to a tablet in his hand. The screen of the device disyed various andplex data and patterns, but the man looked like he was in control of everything.


    Nheless, this man was known as one of the Guardians of the Empire in the public eyes, but behind the scenes, he was known as ''The Mind'', a rather intimidating title for those who were operating in the shadow.


    However, during the day, this man was also known as Gerrard The Wise. Among all of the Guardians, he was said to be the most intelligent.


    Of course, only a few people knew his second title, but those who did fear him and respected him. Along with the one who held the title of ''The Soul'' and ''The body'', he was one of the most influential figures in the dark side of the Empire.


    "Sir, the auction is about to begin." Another man who worked under Gerrard came reporting.


    "How are the neers?" Gerrard asked with his eyes still fixated on the device''s screen.


    Loud music was yed inside the room, but using their power, Gerrard and his subordinate couldmunicate normally.


    "They had all arrived. Among them, there was a suspicious man and so we are keeping an eye on him. Please look at this. Should we take further action?"


    The subordinate showed Gerrard a recording of Adam talking to the receptionist. For some reason, however, Adam was looking directly at the camera as he spoke.


    "Mmm¡­ He is the type of person who does quickly in this world. How did he manage to find out about this auction in the first ce? Have you found something him?" Gerrard said. He didn''t think that Adam was a threat, but he disliked Adam''s attitude.


    He was thinking about how to take advantage of him if he was worth something and immediately dispose of him if he wasn''t.


    "Not yet, sir. We found it weird too that we didn''t find anything about this man in our archives. It''s like he had never existed," the subordinate said.


    "¡­" Hearing this fact, Gerrard squinted his eyes and looked like he was thinking about something.


    He thought that Adam could be some kind of spy, but his attitude was too unprofessional even though he was one. Nheless, he had also considered the possibility that he acted in such a manner to make people think that he was too ipetent to be a spy.


    And even if e was a spy, what would be his motives, his goal? Gerrard had already taken care of suspicious individuals and annihted the person or group who sent them, and he was also thinking about doing the same for Adam''s case.


    In the end, it didn''t matter what Adam''s identity was. Gerrard just found him annoying, so he should me it on himself, or Gerrard thought.


    "Okay, it''s time to go. We will deal with thister," Gerrard said, standing up and walking towards the door.


    *****


    The ce where the special auction would be held looked like a luxurious restaurant where many high-ss people were gathered.


    The mood was lively and people chatted with each other while enjoying drinks and food. ssic music yed in the background and there were even those who danced.


    Leading to this area, the only entrance was a huge door but it was closed. As such, everyone would see who wasing every time it opened.


    Neers would certainly find themselves under everyone else''s gaze because even if they arrived early, they were asked to wait inside another room, and only asked to enter this ce after everyone else.


    This was made to put pressure on the neers, and also for the old members to keep an eye on them.


    It was an unwritten rule for everymunity or organization that neers should respect their seniors, ask for guidance from them and finally rise to the top at their turn.


    Of course, that was just a way for someone like Gerrard to keep the neers in check and control the wholemunity. After all, if someone didn''tply with this, they would certainly end up dead.


    ng!


    The main door was opening to open and every people inside the room turned their attention to the person who entered the room.


    Finally, Gerrard had arrived and the people who were present there had various thoughts about him.


    There were those who were jealous of him, but there were also those who wanted to curry his favor. Some were still new despite beeping epted in themunity and felt honored to see Gerrard.<sub> </sub>


    Getting an invitation to attend this special auction was almost impossible for people who didn''t have any connection with someone who was already operating within thismunity.


    After Gerrard''s arrival, the neers had also arrived, and it was clearly hard for them to try and fit in, but if they wanted to achieve their personal goals or whatever they wanted to achieve in their life for they to turn to the dark side, they needed to create an image for themselves.


    ng!


    However, to everyone''s surprise, another person entered the room, but unlike the other neers, he had a smile on his face.


    Moreover, he was wearing a particr set of sses and even his outfit looked extremely expensive. The people who had eyes for valuable things immediately assessed the worth of Adam''s outfit and essories, and they also did this to all of the other neers, but they couldn''te to a satisfying conclusion about Adam''s case.


    Moreover, the women who came with Adam were iparable beauty, giving the noble women that were present there a run for their money.


    As such, people''s attention was focused on Adam but he looked like he didn''t mind that at all.


    He grabbed a ss of champagne and strolled directly toward a certain person.


    "You look like you have something interesting in your collection. Tell me how much is the worth of the most important item in your collection," Adam, or in this case, John said with a smile on his face.


    He was addressing directly Gerrard who was the most important person present there.


    There was no need for Gerrard to talk to Adam of course and he had already signaled his bodyguards to deal with Adam but for some reason, they weren''t moving.


    "Mmm? Is my pronunciation weird? my name is John Sylvester, can you understand me or do you have trouble with your ears?" Adam continued without mincing his words, nor feeling ufortable or intimidated by the atmosphere.


    There were even people who pitied Adam, but as he continued to speak, people began to wonder why Gerrard didn''t do anything.


    "If so, then I apologize. It''s just that expected something more, how to say it, more interesting. Well, I hope that I won''t leave this ce feeling disappointed. Nheless, you look like you are an interesting individual. Tell me, what is the most important thing to you in this world?"


    Adam continued to talk with a smile on his face, and Gerrard felt extremely irritated by what was happening.


    It was not he didn''t want to say anything, it was just that he couldn''t.


    ''What''s going on? Who is this guy?'' Gerrard thought to himself.


    It was not like Adam was doing anything else apart from talking, but somehow the pressure that he felt began to intensify.


    Gerrard prided himself in the fact that he was cunning but also strong enough to deal with enemies personally if needed.


    "Mmm¡­ I thought that you would be interesting. It looks like you are quite boring too," Adam said, putting his hand on Gerrard''s should as he walked away.


    The pressure that Gerrard felt began to fade away as Adam distanced himself, but what just happened made people question various things.


    After all, how could Gerrard let someone speak to him like that? Was Adam his friend or someone close to him?


    As such, people got more curious about Adam than about Gerrard.


    Nheless, Gerrard stopped his men from going after Adam. He felt like Adam''s background was not simple and acting recklessly wouldn''t do anything well.


    ''He must have connections with those guys. From the look of it, he looks too arrogant to work under someone. What''s his goal?''


    What happened was not a simple coincidence, Gerrard believed.


    Therefore, he just acted as if nothing happened, while Adam continued to talk to people that he found interesting.


    He had an image to protect, but he believed in attacking Adam while not being sure of his victory.


    Moreover, people would forget about this incident once Adam disappeared without anyone knowing.


    ''No matter who you are, I will make you regret being born,'' Gerrard swore to himself.

 Chapter 159 The Holy Academys Test (Part 9)

    :::[Adam POV]:::


    I already knew that some of the Guardians were involved with the dark side of the Empire, but I didn''t expect to see one this soon.


    Well, I guessed that the auction was something simr to a regr yearly gathering. It looked like it was also an event where the neers needed to show themselves and earn the veterans'' favor.


    From the look of it, the dark side of the Empire was not as different from the other form ofmunity when ites to how it functioned as another form of society.


    Nheless, to think that an opportunity to use Gerrard as too for me to create an image for myself would present this often.


    ''I am going to buy everything auctioned during this event. I can''t wait to see his faceter,'' I thought to myself.


    Thinking about these things, all of the guests were asked to move to another room that looked like a theater.


    Looking around the room, I could see that various high-level gift holders were stationed at every corner of the room. Most of them were level 8 but some were stronger.


    Not that they could stop me from doing what I was about to do, but I just wanted to make sure that everything was within my predictions.


    "Have managed to slide into thework?"


    "Yes, master. I am downloading the files," Cristal replied to my question.


    As long as it was a technology created by humans and was innovative enough to have some data andmands insulted by its motherboard, taking control of it was something that Cristal liked to do.


    For some reason, she was quite interested in the data that she collected from my uncle. Most of them were rted to the management of the Raizel family, but Cristal expressed her curiosity about the system that the Empire used to store their data.


    From what I could see, it could be rted to the fact that there was an artificial intelligence simr to her somewhere within the Empire.


    Hearing this, I asked to refrain from essing directly the Empire''s main server or whatever they were using to keep track of the vast data andmunication all around the universe.


    "Stop immediately if there''s something suspicious," I said, and Cristal nodded at my words.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, wee!"


    The event had begun and the host exined the rules of the auction, but I wasn''t interested in listening to him as I already knew everything that I needed to know.


    My attention was focused on Gerrard who was currently sitting in the VIP section. Only the most influential people were given a set there.


    "Okay, can establish the link now," I said to Cristal, referring to the recording device I put on Gerrard by pretending to touch his shoulder earlier.


    It was something simr to a little bug with the abilities of camouge like a chameleon, and It picked up the colors of the target''s clothes.


    "Roger."


    After the connection was established, all of the voice around Gerrard was transmitted inside a device I put inside my years.


    "I am thankful that you epted to take care of this matter, Mr.Gerrard."


    "Don''t mention it. However, we are doing business, so you have to pay the adequate price for my services," Gerrard said.


    The man who talked looked like he was not a simple man himself, but in front of Gerrard, he almost sounded like an employee talking to their superior.


    "Of course, of course. This person has been causing me a lot of problemstely, but he is acquainted with some of the higher-ups so I couldn''t get rid of him easily," the man continued.


    "Don''t misunderstand the situation. As long as you pay the amount that I deem appropriate for the task, it will be done. As such, you should pray that no one has enough money to buy your head."


    I have already gathered all of the information I could manage to find about all of the Guardians, but it was not like all of them were one hundred percent urate.


    It was highly probable that most of this information was falsified. As such, observing the individual with other methods would be more efficient.


    That was why meeting Gerrard here was such a good opportunity.


    ''I always have these little gadgets on me since I create them along with the vehicle. I feel like some kind of secret agent,'' I thought to myself.


    Anyway, apart from recording the voice around Gerrard, that little bug would also give me his location.


    As such, I would be able to figure out all of the important locations where the most influential people meet secretly, whether it was the Guardians or the so-called shadow rulers.


    "Hahaha, I will watch out to not offend such people."


    "Hmph!"<sub> </sub>


    The conversation between the man and Gerrard ended there, and the first item to be auctioned was unveiled.


    "... The bid with start at one million I.C."


    As soon as the host finished saying these words, I pushed the button with an illustration of a hand on the device next to my chair.


    After that, the screen on top of my had lighted up and showed a number.


    "Number 450! One million I.C. Is there anyone else eyeing this Item?  1.1 million I.C?"


    The bidding continued for a while until it reached 7 million I.C, then it was still the same for the other items.


    However, the first few items were just something simr to an appetizer. Starting from the fifth item, the initial starting price was around 30 million.


    Nheless, I continued to buy all of the items with a smile on my face.


    The tenth item reached an astronomic price of 1 billion I.C before the other person gave up on it.


    I didn''t know exactly what the item was, but it looked like a sword. Well, my sma sword was the best in this world, as far as I could see, so it didn''t interest me.


    At that point, however, people began to look at me with various expressions and I waved back at them with a smile on my face.


    I also saw Gerrard looking at me so I waved at him but he ignored me. I could hear what he was saying though.


    "Mr. Gerrard, do you know that person?" The man next to Gerrard asked, but I could hear that the other VIPs were also curious about my identity.


    "Do I look like I know him?"


    "Well, it looks like he doesn''t know his ce. How should we deal with him?" One of the VIPs said? I couldn''t see his face but he sounded like an old man.


    It looked like the old man was tired of living, picking fights with people that he didn''t even know.


    "I will take care of him," Gerrard said with an intimidating tone but from where I sat, I didn''t see any change in his expression.


    "Mmm. It''s rare for people to be this arrogant. I am not even sure if he is not just stupid," the old man added.


    After that, they went on badmouthing me and my attitude, but Gerrard looked like he wasn''t interested in talking with these old men.


    "Dad, Do you see that?"


    Suddenly, the bug picked the voice of a woman.


    "We must get our hand on that. That''s an extremely rare monster''s core." Answering the woman, a man who had a deep and rough voice said these words. His voice reminded me of these yakuza or mafia leaders in those action films.


    Nevertheless, the item that they were talking about was the fiftieth item on the list and the item that I auctioned. A monster''s core that I asked Cristal to pick up from all of the rare monsters we killed.


    I always thought that they would be useful sooner orter, so I decided to keep the rarest ones, so I didn''t absorb them when I was dealing with Linda.


    The starting price for it was 500 million I.C, and this was the only time I didn''t bid.


    "What''s going on? Why is he not bidding?"


    "Mmm. Is it because he was the one who auctioned the item?"


    The people in the VIP section continued to discuss topics rted to me, and the fact that I didn''t blow their heads was enough to prove that I was better at controlling my emotions.


    "12.5 billion! Anyone else? Number 4, 12.5 billion. Is there anyone else?"


    As such, the two mysterious people who appeared to be a father and his daughter got their hands on the core for 12.5 billion.


    It was an astronomical sum because the total asset of a under the jurisdiction of a level 5 lord was just around 100 billion I.C.


    Still, I was already spending more than 1 trillion so it was not like the money that I gained from this auction would help me to pay for the other items.


    Fortunately, my money was unlimited as long as I stayed within the Empire. I managed to think about a way to get make unlimited money, and Cristal did the job for me. In other words, these people were just paid with their own money.


    With this, the economy of the Empire would surely copse after a while.

 Chapter 160 The Holy Academys Test (Part 10)

    "A trillion of IC? How was that possible?!!"


    From the expression on Gerrard''s face and everyone else, I could see that they were trying to get their hands on some information about my new character John Sylvester.


    Nheless, I used Cristal''s ability to duplicate virtual money used in the Empire. Such of thing would of course end up being detected by the system if they werepetent enough, but after a few days, the real values would merge with the duplicated ones, so the only people that would get in trouble would be those who received the money for the payment.


    After all, the system should detect the duplicates, but it wouldn''t be able to make the difference between the real ones and the duplicates.


    As such, in a few days, the people of the dark side would realize that all of their assets would have disappeared, resulting in turmoil, but they would take time to guess, or would never guess, that it was me who did it, as people who didn''t even participate in the auction would also lose money.


    Moreover, all of them were rted to the dark side of the Empire. I analyzed and studied the information that Cristal retrieved from the Raizel family. Among them was the list of wealthy people in the Empire.


    Next, I only needed to ask Cristal to identify these people as we entered the room earlier. After that, I froze all of the transmission from this ce by asking  Cristal to be some kind of wall between all the transactions, data transfer, andmunication from this ce and the secondary server of this area.


    During this, Cristal would analyze every kind of signal and transfer of data, then use all of that to make the duplication. As such, once Cristal reestablish the connection, the system would finally notice the anomaly.


    Nheless, even if they thought so, it was not like they could do anything about it. As such, I could also use this doubt to pressure everyone else.


    Moreover, even if I was deemed to be the culprit, it was not like they could report that I scammed people during a secret auction of the undergroundmunity held inside of one of the buildings owned by a Guardian. I would happily show the items I bought as well as the information about those who auctioned them if I was asked to do so and pretend to be a spy affiliated with the Raizel family under Adam Von Kepalta''s order.


    Considering all of that, Gerrard would certainly be a useful tool for me to take control of the dark side of the Empire.


    He was smart enough to figure out that this problem might be rted to me. And if he did, he would be ying in the palm of my end.


    "What do you think of this, Mr. Gerrard? Who is that person?"


    "Yeah, he just spent almost a trillion of IC and tool all of the auctioned materials for him."


    The people in the VIP section began to panic, as there was no rule about how many items a person could acquire from the auction.


    Gerrard didn''t say anything but just looked in my direction with narrowed eyes. Noticing this, I waved at him.


    "This bastard!"


    Gerrard didn''t say anything and just left, but the other VIPs began to curse me with their words.


    I was about to leave too, but the guards surrounded us.


    "Please follow me. It''s time to finalize the transaction and acquire your items."


    Among the guards, there was someone who looked like some kind of butler and he asked us to follow him.


    I didn''t have any issues with this so I nodded and followed him. Nheless, I wasn''t if the other guards were there to assure our security or to keep an eye on us. Well, maybe it was both reasons.


    "Please wait here."


    We were brought inside a luxurious room and were asked to wait. I didn''t ask for more exnation, but I guessed that Gerrard or some important person would meet me.


    Looking around the room, Cristal detected a few cameras and recording devices.


    Knowing this, I began to y with something that looked like chess which was put inside the room. It was used for decoration, but I took it and put it on the table.


    "Do you know how to y, Lisa?" I said, referring to nca.


    "No."<sub> </sub>


    "Sure, let''s y then."


    Soon after that, an old man wearing too many gaudy outfits forme age entered the room along with some people who were supposed to be some kind of big shots in themunity.


    I already knew what they were trying to do, because the auction ended in a very unexpected way. I bet that a lot of people wanted some of the s so badly, for them to bid up to 30 billion, but to their surprise, I still raised the bid.


    "Mmm? Who are you? I am here to finalize the transaction. I don''t want to discuss it with anyone for the rest of the day," I said, not even ncing at them.


    As soon he hear my words, the old frowned and was about to say something but my character should be so tolerant as to let anyone look down on him. John Sylvester should be indomitable.


    "I don''t want to repeat myself. You, the butler, finish the transaction immediately. I''d like to see my items now, and I hope you won''t do something as foolish as handing me something fake!" I said, and stood up, looking at the bunch of people who were immobile in front of me.


    "Y-yes, sir."


    The butler quickly realized what was going on, just by looking at the old man who had his mouth open wide, and an extremely unsightly expression. I guessed that he was about to yell at me in anger and order his guards to give me a lesson.


    "Move out the way. You are not in the least interesting," I said, and with just my words, apart from the butler, everyone else was shoved out of my way and crashed on a wall outside the room.


    However, they didn''t fall on the ground and stayed stuck on the wall like bugs trapped by a spider''s web.


    "That goes for you too, Gerrard. I hope youe up with something more interesting next time. Today has been very disappointing. I expected something more from all of you. How can you be called the greatest criminal organization in the Empire with this kind of boring attitude? I don''t see any difference between you and some random thugs on the street," I added looking in the direction of the camera.


    "Sir, this man. He is looking down on you. Should I kill him?"


    "No, not yet. Don''t fall in his trap," Gerrard said. He hadn''t yet noticed the existence of the bug. "From now, find everything about him. Everything! Don''t leave anything uncovered. It has been a while since someone dared to challenge me in this way. This is fun, I guess I will y him for a while."


    After that, Gerrard began tough like a maniac, and I felt sorry for him. I bet he still had a lot of goals in his life.


    Like these viins in webtoons, I bet he had a very sad backstory, but unfortunately for him, he would probably end up dying soon.


    After analyzing the file that Cristal had on him, what he did to more than thousands of people could be considered a deadly sin.


    Well, I wasn''t about to judge him, but it was just that he shouldn''t me his death on anyone else other than himself when that time came.


    "Wh-why is he smiling in such a way?"


    The man who was talking to Gerrard looked like he had noticed my expression. I should be more careful in the future, or so I thought as I followed the butler.


    I didn''t know if it was by Gerrard''s order, but everything else went smoothly after that.


    After leaving the building, however, I knew that we were being followed, and I had equipped the vehicle with a way that could deal with this situation.


    It was not only the suites that could turn invisible and intractable, using X-ray vision or any other kind of scanner.


    It took me a while to figure out how to do this, but by experiencing the atoms that I merged, transformed, and converted with my astral body, I finally managed to create the weird metal that I used to deal with the old man and his friend.


    I just considered it as iron, but it didn''t have the same property as simple iron.


    ''Well, at least then we''re lucky that I managed to create something that didn''t kill my opponent instantly. Now my offense is almost as invincible as my defense. Well, I still struggle withrge-scale attacks though. However, after analyzing the property of elemental gifts, it will be only a matter of time before I could also duplicate their effect.''


    I knew that such a thing wasn''t still enough to achieve my goals but I was proud of my growth.


    "Well, let''s see what the Academy''s test has in store for us."

 Chapter 161 The Holy Academys Test (Part 11)

    "This is your room. You can ask Cristal if there''s something you need. The room is equipped with a lot of weird things after all."


    After finishingying the groundwork for the second part of the n, we headed to a new building that I bought using the money from the auction. 12 billion of IC was not in the least a small amount of money.


    "Is the whole building yours?" Bianca asked, seeing how big the ce was.


    "Yeah, I just bought it. We are the elite of the elite. This is nothingpared to the things that we are about to do from here," I said. "Well, rest for today. We have a lot of things to take care of tomorrow."


    "Hey, Adam. If you die now, it would be a problem. You should also stop thinking and just sleep sometimes. Don''t say that I didn''t warn youter¡­"


    While mumbling something to me, nca closed the door of her room abruptly.


    Despite how she looked, I felt that her impression of me had improved a little bit. Well, I didn''t dislike her too.


    Nheless, I still had things to take care of before I could sleep.


    "Cristal, did you get theyout of the arenas?"


    "Yes, I managed to get them from Gerrard''s files."


    "Nice. Let''s do this. We have to make sure that the Raizel family raise in fame after this event. We will attack the Empire from both sides."


    "Are you sure about this n, though?" Cristal asked, and it had been a while since she suggested something ormented about my ns.


    "Have you found a w?"


    "That''s not the case. Yet, the probability of sess is not also high."


    "I am aware of this. However, before we face some unexpected variable, we need to finishying the groundwork."


    "I also agree with this, master. Nheless, I found it strange that things have been going so smoothly even though we haven''t even collected all of the necessary data for the next n. We had, of course, made our moves while being extremely cautious, but for some reason, something is missing. I am not a human and I am relying on the data stored in my system, so I can''t determine precisely what is missing," Cristal exined.


    "Mmm¡­ Well, I am probably too focused on my perception of things, that''s why I didn''t notice anything like that. What''s missing?"


    After listening to Cristal, I began to recall all of the events that happened after I came back from beyond the portals.


    Everything that I did from there was for my sake and the people that I cared about.


    Nheless, things weren''t as simple as they sounded, and I devised a n to reach my goals.


    Things were going smoothly until now, but Cristal suggested that something was missing.


    "Ah! Are you referring to my mother''s nature and also human''s and monster''s evolution?"


    "I already know that you have a n for this. My concern is rted to the Holy Church, but you have also designed a n to deal with them. Nheless, Pride said to be wary of this organization. Therefore, despite what we know, I still haven''t made the connection between the dark side of the Empire and the Holy Church."


    "Mmm¡­ You are not wrong. The Empire controls everything on the surface, but the dark side of the Empire controls the hidden side of this world. We know that the Holy Church is plotting something, but we haven''t yet uncovered its goal. It wouldn''t even be a surprise if the Holy Church used the dark side to conceal its true nature. If that is the case¡­"


    "Pride also exined about how the battle between the two Primordial Gods hadn''t reached a definite conclusion yet."


    "Yeah, now that I think about it, it wouldn''t be strange if some people were trying to revive the God of Void. There are a lot of mysteries rted to this, of course, such as, how did the God of Void manage to motivate these people to do so. And how are they going to do it? Still¡­ Mmm¡­ One girl can destroy the world¡­ Don''t tell me! It''s so absurd that I have a hard time epting it, but such a thing would be indeed possible in this world. The question was how? Who? Where? And when this would happen."


    If I could possess the two Primordial Authorities, why wouldn''t it be possible for the God of Void to be reincarnated inside of a human body?


    Nheless, what kind of human body could assimte such existence? And in the first, ce, as far as Pride said, the God of void should be still imprisoned in an infinite loop. Was there a way for him to break free?<sub> </sub>


    "It seems like you reached the answer on your own, master."


    "Cristal, you¡­"


    "It was a good thing that you changed and decided to deal with things with your power, but seeing the big picture also means that you will not see all of the details," Cristal said and I agreed with her. "Pride''s words might be the key to your sess. I advise master to remember everything he said."


    I wouldn''t say that I got sidetracked, because everything I did now was necessary, but as Cristal said, it was easy to miss the details when I focus too much on the bigger picture.


    "I guess finding the girl and preventing them from destroying the world isn''t enough. It''s getting more of a pain. Tsk! I feel like someone isughing somewhere. Nheless, we need to take prepare for the test for now."


    *****


    The next day, all of the participants were gathered in a very spacious area somewhere within the Holy Academy''s area.


    After that, were given some instructions and were given some quizzes that were sent inside of the device we obtained at the registration area. It seemed like they were called SDP (Student''s data packet ).


    I didn''t care about the name, but when I received it, I had already checked everything and I saw it was equipped with a tracking function.


    Various things could be done with it, but to think that they would just send us the quizzes just like that.


    The quizzes were multiple choice questions, and the participants needed to answer one question before moving to the next one.


    It looked like a game. Therefore, I just thought about it as a game and dealt with all of the levels as fast as possible. I didn''t even need Cristal''s help. I finished all of the 500 levels in 15 minutes. Waiting for the system to check my answer was the only reason why it took me 15 minutes to do it.


    At first, I thought that the test was a bit ridiculous, but after observing the other students, I knew what the people in charge wanted to do.


    After receiving the quizzes, the students were free to go wherever they wanted, as long as it was within the Academy''s area.


    I didn''t bother checking the rules, but I knew that there were penalties for every form, or attempt to, cheat.


    The SDP was equipped with a camera, voice recorder, and some kind of GPS. As such, even though the students were free to do whatever they wanted, they were also made aware that they were responsible for their choice.


    Not being able to see the next question, and not being able to answer them without having the device in their hand and looking at it, it was almost impossible to cheat.


    The order of the questions was also randomized for every student despite the questions'' difficulty being divided into three categories.


    I had, of course, chosen the most beautiful ce that I could find around the Academy to settle while doing the test, even though it just took me fifteen minutes.


    I created a beautiful-looking table, chairs, and even a little chalet with my power. Of course, all of it was ck, but it still merged well with natural flowers and nts around.


    <o>,m Nevertheless, the pretentious kids who thought of themselves as people who stood at the top of the hierarchy began to look at me with odd eyes.</o>


    I knew that they had certainly remembered what happened with the guards, and so I predicted that some of them would take the opportunity to build some kind of connection with me and also evaluate my capabilities.


    They were all the same, and it was not like I was different from the, from this perspective. As such, they would only serve one purpose for me.


    "Hello there! Can we sit next to you?"


    A group of girls who looked like some bunch of human-sized dolls approached me first. It looked like they noticed that I put my SDP away after finishing the text, and just waited casually for the announcement that those who had finished could leave.


    I wasn''t saying that they were ugly but there was something that somehow made them all identical in my eyes.

 Chapter 162 The Holy Academys Test (Part 12)

    "Please enter."


    "Sorry to bother you, Headmaster, but you have to see this?"


    A man with ho appeared to be one of some overseers of the test entered the headmaster''s office.


    "Mmm. 15 minutes, right?"


    "Yes, he finished the test in 15 minutes and answered correctly all of the questions. Moreover, there was no sign or attempt to cheat. Is necessary to do more investigation on this matter?"


    The test was nothing more than a little background knowledge check, and even though the Headmaster was displeased with this decision, some of the higher-ups in the Empire decided to emphasize the duels and dungeon exploration.


    Of course, despite using words such as ''teamwork'' and ''hidden potential'', these people only wanted to use this opportunity for their benefit.


    As such, even if the students only managed to answer the easy questions, they would be qualified for the next test.


    Nheless, the headmaster had insisted that they should at least make the test more challenging, in the hope to let those who were smart butcked fighting ability show their skills.


    She exined that it would be unfair if the test was too easy and those people would not benefit from their hard work.


    The Empire needed, not only strong fighters but ask smart and intelligent people to win the war.


    It was obvious why some of the people at the top didn''t want to gather too many of these intelligent people, but since the headmaster had a point, they couldn''t just refuse her request.


    "What do you think Derige? This kid had made quite a scene yesterday, and it doesn''t look like he intends to stop soon," the blonde-haired woman, who was currently the Headmaster of the Holy Academy.


    The office of the headmaster, if it could be called so, was very spacious, and there was a collection of items, ranging from weird-looking books to something simr to a dragon''s remains.


    Sitting on top of afortable and luxurious-looking couch, Derige looked like he was sleeping while crossing his arms.


    "Why are you asking me this question, Agartha?" He said and his words carried so much weight that the room was filled with his presence.


    From the look of it, he had the habit of closing his eyes and crossing his arms when he was listening to someone.


    "I was just wondering, how the strongest person in the Empire would evaluate this young man? Do you think your daughter can outperform him?"


    From how Agartha said it, one of Adam''s participants that would duel with Adam in the second test was Derige''s daughter.


    During this test, a participant needs to secure 2 victories, for the test to be fair. As such, if they win one duel, and lose the next one, they still have a chance to pass the test with the third duel.


    On the other hand, if they secure two victories sessively, they didn''t go for a third duel.


    Knowing this, even if Adam wins, it wasn''t like either him or Derige''s daughter would be disqualified, or so Agartha implied, and this duel would just show their real ability.


    "There''s nothing such a granted victory. You should already know that," Derige replied, not giving a precise answer.


    "Well, I am looking forward to seeing the performance of this generation despite the schemes of the higher-ups," Agartha said, and the overseer had a face expressing his worry concerning herment. It was not something to be said out loud, but the Headmaster looked like she didn''t care.


    "Continued to keep an eye on him for now," Agartha added, and the overseer left the room after nodding at her words.


    Nevertheless, Adam was not the main topic of Derige and Agartha''s discussions, and it was just a slight interruption in their ongoing talk.


    "Continuing our discussion, I doubt the Holy Mother and the Holy Church are involved in all of this, but we should be careful. I still find it funny that despite you trying hard to hide everything from her, she still managed to follow in her father''s footsteps. I guess, it''s in your blood," Agatha said.


    She had known Derige for quite a long time, and she had never expected him to marry and have a daughter.


    Derige also understood that his status, lifestyle, and the environment he was ustomed to were not something that should impact her daughter''s life.


    He knew that getting too involved with the Empire would be harmful to her.


    Nevertheless, despite all of his attempts to keep her far from all of that, his daughter still ended up discovering the dark side of the Empire.<sub> </sub>


    Moreover, she was also as stubborn as him and had an acute sense of justice.


    "At this point, it is of no use to try and stop her, so the least I can do is to make sure that she can follow the path that she chose to take," Derige said, and even though his voice was not different from before, and his expression was unchanging, Agartha knew that it was not something that he liked to talk about.


    However, it had been a while since the two of them talked so Agartha wanted to see if Derige had somehow changed, and she wasn''t disappointed.


    "I see, you are the same as ever. I know that you will still me everything on yourself though," Agartha remarked. "Well, as long as we can obtain that item, everything should be set up. I don''t have much time left. These bastards must have already found a way to get rid of me, so we need to do this quickly."


    Deridge nodded at Agartha''s words, and even though everything appeared to be normal, their voice didn''t even leave the room, at least that was what they thought.


    *****


    As the most beautiful ce within the Holy Academy, the Holy Garden deserved how to be referred to with such a name.


    The entirety of this special area was as big as a whole city, but most of it was covered with forests.


    There were artificially built pathways all around the area so that people wouldn''t step too much on the greenery, or wander too deep inside the forests.


    After all, it was not only a ce where beautiful flowers grew and bloomed, but it was also the home of a lot of rare animals.


    The scenery reminded Adam of the Royal Garden of Kepalta, a ce that her mother loved.


    Nheless, he knew that being overly sentimental about it wouldn''t do anything well. There were a lot of inhabiteds in this world, and as long as the resources were enough, rebuilding a civilization wasn''t impossible, or so Adam thought, as he enjoyed the beautiful scenery.


    Well, at least, he wanted to enjoy the scenery and take a little bit of a break and rx, but there were too many things that bothered him.


    For example, the face of cheeky kids ruined the view, as they didn''t even bother to hide the fact that they were gossiping about him.


    This happened after he turned down the request of a group of girls who looked like they tried to get something from him.


    To be exact, he didn''t say anything and just let them stand there until they left on their own.


    Adam had also given nca a book filled with beautiful illustrations of ssy women and their outfits, as well as instructions on how to act like an elite.


    Therefore, she didn''t even take a look at the bunch of girls who approached them.


    nca was smart, and despite how she acted, she liked the outfit that Adam designed for her. In other words, she was interested in fashion. It was not something that she even cared about before, as she was just wearing armor most of the time.


    Considering this, Adam and nca appeared like they were alone in their world, without caring about the other people around them.


    Nheless, some didn''t like it when there were people who didn''t acknowledge their presence.


    It was not totally a bad thing to have pride in one''s status, aplishments, and abilities, and Adam also wanted people to respect him for those.


    However, he also knew that as an elite, it was never the best idea to force someone to acknowledge his superiority, even if it was unavoidable sometimes.


    "I tell you, he is so arrogant! He thinks that he is above all of us! Harold, are you going to let him do whatever he wants?"


    One of the girls who was ignored by Adam began toin to one of the kids who appeared to be the leader of one of the big groups.


    Hearing what the girl said, Harold looked around, but the other groups didn''t look like they would make a move soon.


    After what happened with the security guards, most of them were wary of Adam''s ability.


    ''If I can take care of this, my position would rise, and I would acquire more influence,'' Harold thought to himself, believing that he could deal with Adam if he wanted to.


    "Mmm. It seems like he isn''t from a decent family in the first ce. Some things can only be learned by experiencing it," Harold said, and it sounded like his words were very deep.

 Chapter 163 The Holy Academys Test (Part 13)

    :::[Adam POV]:::


    ''Something is happening somewhere, I can feel it, or should I say an intuition? Well, maybe I''ve been too immersed in my thoughts thesest few days, to the point that I feel weird when I just try to rx and avoid thinking about all of those things.''


    Cristal reminded me of something important, and after taking her words her words into consideration, I automatically found new elements that needed to be taken into consideration.


    As such, even though I finished the test in 15 minutes, it was not like I was just wasting time. Taking the time to gather my thoughts and reflect on my actions was something necessary.


    And it would have been nice if these pretentious kids didn''t ruin the view.


    After I turned down these girls, it looked like they took it personally. The leader of their group seemed to have thought about something interesting, but unfortunately, it looked like he thought about something rted to me so he would certainly fail.


    Thinking about it, situations like this happened a lot in these novels where the MC tried to y it cool.


    ''The authors tend to use these cliched turn of events to keep the readers engaged, or what was the point of those? Come to think of it, haven''t I done something like that a lottely?''


    It felt like I be a sort of protagonist and the author was a pure sadist.


    "Look at that crowd," nca mumbled, seeing the group of people heading toward us.


    I didn''t care about them and their opinions, but for the sake of the n, an elite should be an elite anytime, anywhere.


    At least, that was what I thought, but I was already bored of all of the Academy-rted stuff.


    ''I need to think about something to speed up this process.''


    To think that I would be someone who had the power to be the ruler of this world though. I was just an ugly person with a nasty character before.


    ''I am really curious about how far I can go on this path.''


    Though, after saying what she said, it looked like nca had already lost interest in the group of people.


    I also had ignored them, since they wouldn''t be able to get closer to us anyway.


    I could hear them questioning what was happening as their feet wouldn''t move forward once they were within twenty meters of me.


    Frustration showed on the boy who looked like the leader of the group, but it was not like it would change anything.


    "Mmm?"


    Forgetting about the noisy people, I looked at the SDP''s, as I was notified of the arrival of new instructions.


    From what I could read, the first test ended, and the results were already announced.


    Obviously, I was at the top of the ranking, and Neige tied with me. From, the look of it, it didn''t matter even if I finished it faster than everyone else.


    ''Come to think of it, I saw Neige around. Hmm? Oh, she is there. And this is also interesting. So my first opponent for tomorrow is a girl huh? Farah Vyh zenain, the daughter of Derige.''


    I already knew everything I needed to know about the Guardians. After all, there were a lot of articles about them, so as an elite, I shouldn''t be clueless about these things.


    Their hidden identities were a different matter, and Adam, the elite character shouldn''t have anything to do with those.


    However, there was something that I needed to take care of as an elite character.


    ''The rebellion. There should be opportunities to find the root of this organization tomorrow¡­''


    After talking with Cristal, yesterday, I realized that the three big powers that control the Empire might be just a fa?ade used by the Holy Church, and the Holy Church was also a fa?ade used by an unknown entity, and this unknown entity was also controlled by another unknown entity.


    I reached this conclusion after considering Pride, and thatst Boss''s words.


    ''It looked like I was already taking part in the multiverse war, which was a background created by the God of Void, or at least a very powerful being who wished for his resurrection, and the Empire was just the pawn of a pawn.


    ''Sigh¡­ This is nuts.''


    I couldn''t but sigh internally. I felt like there would be no end to the things that I didn''t know and was about to discover. And then every time I made a discovery, it always led to more questions.


    Nheless, it was not like I could take the progression of the current n half-heartedly.


    ''If the King notice that his pawn has been taken from him, would he retaliate? I need to finish everything and finish ascending to the next level before that happens.''


    Crack!


    "Hmm?"


    Something weird disrupted my train of thought.


    My body felt heavy and knowing that such a thing was abnormal, I immediately activated my power.


    I also nced at nca, but far from noticing anything, she looked like she was frozen in time, and everyone around me was the same.<sub> </sub>


    ''Thi is¡­ Time maniption?''


    My body wasn''t moving, but I still could think.


    ''No, my body is moving. But it''s moving slowly. It seems like my internal parts aren''t affected by this ability. Antimatter can erase time, but it would take a while before I can activate my power externally.''


    Crack!


    I couldn''t what was happening behind me, but I already this peculiar sound of something breaking. After all, it was a sound that could only be produced by breaking theyer that separates dimensions.


    Fortunately, I have always thought about countermeasures for the only things that could threaten me, and time-based power was one of them. One of the Guardians seemed to have this power, after all.


    I wasn''t sure if it was even possible to do anything against time, but that was only if I didn''t include the Antimatter in the equation.


    I didn''t who they were, but unfortunately for them, I managed to materialize the Antimatter even if it was just for a few seconds.


    Absorbing the monsters'' cores helped me to strengthen my body, even if I didn''t understand what happened that day.


    As such, I could store more neutral particles inside of my body, enough to bear the burden of materializing the Antimatter for a few seconds.


    Nheless, controlling it was still hard, and like before, something weird happened every time I tried to use it.


    Crack! Crack!


    I wasn''t about to lose even if something was wrapping around my neck. I couldn''t feel anything, but I knew that the situation was bad.


    I was pretty calm despite what was happening. I looked at beings who looked like they were apostles of death with ck robes and skeleton bodies.


    I could tell that they were strong thoughts, strong enough to cause a lot of damage if they were to target the Empire.


    I was wondering why they didn''t attack the Empire all of this time, but then I remembered the discovery I just made. They didn''t want to go into an all-out war with the King who use the Empire as a pawn.


    However, I wasn''t included in the King''s n, so everyone could attack me as I was also participating in the battle, and I had two primordial authorities and one fragment of the Tree of Life.


    The question was, how did they find me? And did this mean that the one who use the Empire as a pawn already know about my existence? Why didn''t do anything if that was the case?


    ''Don''t tell me¡­ He is using me? How? Tsk¡­''


    The apostle of death approached me, and it was not like that they were moving slowly, my thought processes were just unbelievably fast.


    Their attacks were about to reach me and if were to be hit by those, I would certainly die.


    ''5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­''


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    "What are you surprised about? Oh, you didn''t know that I had this power? It seems like you only know about the fragments. So who are you? You who are looking at me?"


    In just a few seconds, I used the Antimatter to decimate the apostle of death around me, just by passing next to them.


    Well, even if time stopped, my movements weren''t blocked by any kind of force while I used the Antimatter.


    "Hmm? They are gone."


    Failing to achieve their goal, the entity that controlled the apostle of death disappeared, and it looked like nothing happened.


    I could only see his eyes, and it was very big and intimidating. Was that a gigantic skeleton?


    His power was insane though. It felt like he was the God of Death. I was about to finish him in one attack if I was able to do so, but it looked like he decided that I was too dangerous.


    Nheless, if I failed to kill him in these five seconds, things would have ended in a very nasty way.


    Well, I was sure that the entity could be killed if he deemed the Antimatter dangerous.


    The key was to never panic while using the Antimatter, or I would just waste five seconds for nothing.


    After five seconds, it would be hard for me to keep the Antimatter from overflowing out of my body. Well, five seconds was enough to deal with anything and anyone. The Antimatter was just too much of an overkill.


    Well, the price of activating it was not cheap either. My body felt like it was about to melt.


    "What''s happening, Adam? When did you stand up? Your hair, they are white?"


    "Let''s go."


    Ignoring nca''s question, I decided that it was time to leave, rest and make big adjustments to the n.


    I didn''t underestimate the situation, but it was also trickier than I expected. To think that they would find me this soon.

 Chapter 164 The Holy Academys Test (Part 14)

    "Nothing is happening¡­"


    I expected that the attack would continue, but from the look of it, the skeleton dude appeared to have given up on killing me for the time being.


    I didn''t sleep all night just to make sure that they weren''t waiting for that to happen before attacking me.


    However, far from anything happening, the night was calm and peaceful.


    "Hmmm¡­ Did you stay up all night? You were acting weird yesterday too, did something happen?"


    Seeing me sitting on a sofa in the spacious living room, nca deduced that I didn''t sleep. Well, I didn''t change my clothes and I didn''t move, so I looked the same as how she saw me before she went to sleep.


    "Not something that you should be concerned about, and get dressed. We have a lot to do," I said, looking at nca who was still in her Pajama. Sheined about how they looked childish but after getting used to howfortable they were, she ended up wearing them while sleeping.


    "Okay. You look kind of determined. I am really wondering what''s up with you. Not that I care though," nca mumbled and headed to the kitchen. "Cristal, what do we have for breakfast?"


    For some reason, she got used to seeing Cristal and even began to talk to her and ask her various things.


    I appreciated the fact that nca wasn''t the kind of person who would not pester me with a lot of questions though.


    ''I look determined, huh¡­ Well, I might have ended up fighting extremely powerful beings that were probably stronger than me. At the same time, I was a little excited to see how well I could do against them, and I was also determined to not let the thought of losing cross my mind.''


    Therefore, the fact that I was sitting in the same spot where I sat the night before made me question various things.


    ''If the Shadow King of the Empire didn''t make his move yet, could it be that he had taken my presence into consideration and had already adjusted his ns? If that were the case, then I might be up against a truly tough opponent. They appeared to be a few steps ahead of me, and I don''t like the sound of it.''


    Nheless, there was also the possibility of them not taking notice of me. If that was the case, then things would make sense until now, but the problem was that the skeleton dude appeared, and something as cunning as them should be at least be aware of the skeleton dude''s appearance even if they didn''t notice me.


    Hence, they should be already looking for me, but the fact that they didn''t do so yet make me feel ufortable.


    I didn''t like the feeling despite knowing that they weren''t able to follow everything I was doing. If they were aware of my presence but decided to jot do anything, things would get trickier from there.


    After all, it implied that no matter what I did, it would not affect their n. No matter what happened to the Empire, they would still achieve their goal.


    And this would also mean that no one in the Empire was aware of this n, so I wouldn''t find any answer. The only clue for me to prevent whatever they were plotting was only from what Pride said.


    Therefore, I needed to solve the mystery behind the question, ''how could one girl could destroy the world?''


    ''However, I should adjust my ns based on the fact that they already know everything about me. It looks like this will be a battle of wits. I should make sure that my enemy can''t take advantage of my weakness.''


    ''My biggest weakness is my family, and the people I like.''


    Unfortunately, I wasn''t able to able to grasp the concept behind teleportation yet, so I couldn''t use that to rush to them if something happened.


    ''If something happens to them, I would probably destroy the world though, so for the time being, I should focus on what I can do and improve, instead of focusing on my weaknesses. Liu should be fine for now¡­ She hasn''t fully awakened her power yet. I should keep an eye on her though.''


    Next, about the participants in this multiversal bloodbath. For some reason, some of them have something, or the ability, to locate tree fragments.


    From what I deduced, the Tree fragments emitted sort wavelengths that could only be detected using these special things.


    This frequency could transcend dimensions and universes. Therefore, it was not used to hide as long as I couldn''t find a way to block this wavelength. The Antimatter did the job before, and that was why I wasn''t discovered until now, but after bringing my astral body to this world, every time I used my power,  a part of it was leaking out.


    It was faint but it looked like some beings were able to detect it. To think that they were so desperate about it.


    "Sigh¡­"<sub> </sub>


    If all of my assumptions were right, it looked like Empire was closer to its end than people thought.


    "Mmm¡­ People, world¡­ What was Pride referring to when he used the word world. In his lyrics, MJ referred to people as the world, and it made sense. In that case, if all of the intelligent life forms in this universe were to perish, could that be also considered destroying the world? Something simr to what T*anos did¡­ Hahaha, I might be thinking too much about this. It kind of funny though when I am experiencing it."


    "What are mumbling? I''ve been watching you for a while now. Want one?"


    I already noticed nca sat in front of me, but I ignored her as she was eating her pancakes happily


    "Sure."


    I ate the pancakes along with nca. It tasted great, making me forget all of thatplicated stuff for a bit.


    "What are we going to do today?"


    "Well, I am going to finish the test quickly and deal with various things in the background. You have to monitor some people though. Cristal, give her the files."


    "Roger."


    "Mmm¡­ I just need to observe them?" nca asked, looking at the pictures and data of some of the participants.


    "Yeah, make sure that you don''t miss anything and report to me if they do something suspicious. The way you are now, you should also be able to assess their abilities to a certain extent," I exined.


    "Okay. Apart from that?"


    "Mmm? That''s all for now. The reason why I am asking you to observe them is for you to get some ideas about the people we will be dealing with in the future. It''s important."


    "Do they have something to do with the fragments?"


    From the way she talked, it looked like nca had somehow realized that she was justzing aroundtely, and so she wanted me to entrust her with some important tasks that would make her feel that she was working.


    All of this time, she had a mission and it looked like she never took a break, so I guessed that she found it weird that she had the time to discover and enjoy new things.


    It was not like I didn''t want to ask her to perform important tasks though, it was just not the right time to make our move.


    "Yes, everything is for the sake of finding the fragments. We might not even have the time to breathe in the future so let''s take it easy for now, and make sure that everything we do brings us closer to our goal, "I replied.


    "I know that, but I am worried about my sister too. What if we are toote? What if she needs my help?"


    All of sudden, nca''s tone and expression had changed. It seemed like I stillcked the ability to understand her.


    In the end, nca was also a person with feelings even if she was stronger than most people.


    "Unfortunately, I can''t promise anything. However, we are sure to fail if we don''t do anything. That''s for sure. What do you want to do?"


    "I¡­" Bianca took a deep breath and then she wore her usual expression on her face. "I won''t give up."


    I didn''t know what kind of rtionship nca had with her sister, but it felt like her sister was someone important to her. Therefore, I was wondering about the nature of her mission, as well as the person who asked them to perform the tasks, and also how they were formed and raised to be the warriors they had be.


    After all, the woman in front of me never doubted that she was doing the right thing and that her mission was so important that she would risk her life toplete it.


    "I am d to hear that you are determined. Things may take a nasty turn sooner than you think so having this kind of mindset is not never a bad thing," I said with a smile.


    I wasn''t the person who couldfort someone else, but I guess I could at least try.

 Chapter 165 The Holy Academys Test (Part 15)

    :::[Third Person POV]:::


    Adam''s first duel was about to begin and even though he was sure to win, there was also something that intrigued him.


    "The next duel would put Farah Vyh zenain against Adam Von Kepalta. As you may have already guessed, thisdy is the daughter of the strongest man in the Empire, the Fire Guardian, the legend, Derige zenain!"


    Adam didn''t understand why there was a need to have amentator for this event, almost as if it was a UFC match.


    However, it looked like the audience was hyped and when Derige''s face was shown on the enormous screen, the audience began to shout and apud.


    It looked like Derige and some of the other guardians showed up for the first day of the test.


    Such a fact didn''t really make Adam feel anything in particr but he also didn''t miss this chance to observe these individuals considered the Empire''s strongest.


    "Are you ready?"


    The referee asked Adam and Farah if they were ready after exining the rules to them.


    The rules while simple. If one of the participants capitted, was unable to move for a certain amount of time, or got pushed back beyond the limit of the arena, the other one wins.


    These rules were created so that the weak would have a chance to win against the strong, or so it was emphasized.


    The rules didn''t mean anything much to Adam, but it was important to understand the limits of what someone could do during the duel.


    Therefore, after considering all of the possibilities and adjusting his ns rted to the twins and the other participants affiliated with the Raizel family, Adam nodded at the referees'' words.


    "Ready, Fight!"


    The referee announced the start of the duel, but Adam found it weird that the Holy Academy''s test turned into something like a martial artspetition.


    The spectators who shouted at the top of their lungs, thementators who tried to liven up the event, and the participants who gave their all.


    ''What''s this?'' Adam asked himself. To think that he was just attacked by an unknown entity the day before.


    Swoosh! Boom!


    While Adam looked like he was thinking about various things, Farah didn''t hesitate to attack to end the duel with a single attack.


    "Did you see that, Jacob?!!"


    "Yeah, Jim. It looked like the duel ended with that one move. I can feel the temperature rising all the way here."


    The whole arena was engulfed in a sea of mes, and the spectators felt threatened despite knowing that there was a barrier protecting them.


    From the look of it, Farah knew about Adam''s deeds and didn''t go easy on him.


    "I wouldn''t be sure about that, I heard some rumors about the other participant, and it seems like he is not someone that can be taken down with one attack."


    "Hmph! Are you saying that he stands a chance against Farah the Red Phoenix? She is a genius that is said to be at the level of Liu the Ice Queen you know. Look at that, magnificent! Jim, that''s the Phoenix armor!"


    Farah''s uniform turned into ashes but underneath her clothes was a rare full-body suit crafted using dragon''s scales that could withstand high temperature.


    This suit let her use her ability to the fullest without holding back, but even without it, she was already at the level where she could materialize suit with her power.


    Nheless, it was not all that would change anything when it came to Adam''s assured victory.


    Still, he had learned to never underestimate his opponents. Like him, they also may have four or five trump cards up their sleeves, or so Adam thought.


    Shoowsh!


    "It''s not over yet!"


    A silhouette appeared from within the smoke and rose to the sky. ck wings and red crimson eyes looking down at Farah, were the first thing that the people watching the duel noticed.


    Adam was unscathed and his white clothes even have any trace of burn on them, even though he decided to not bring his ck coat with him during the duel.


    "I can''t believe it. It looks like you are right, Jim! This boy, Adam, he is not going down easily. Do you hear that? The audience is waiting to see more from this duel!"


    "I told you. His background might not be extraordinary, but you should not judge a book by its cover."


    Thements annoyed Adam but he was calm and looked like he wasn''t in the least threatened by Farah.


    It might have been an act but the character that Adam tried to portray had also affected his personality.<sub> </sub>


    "Tsk!"


    No one else heard it but Adam noticed that Farah had just shown an expression of displeasure.


    Swoosh!


    This time, Farah used her power to leap upward and darted toward Adam like a meteorite.


    Her whole body was covered in red mes and it showed what kind of fighter she was.


    Instead of using tricks and some kind of martial arts, she was the kind of person who used her overwhelming power to annihte her opponent.


    Adam felt the temperature rising and it was getting harder for him to breathe.


    Boom!


    "Again, the Red Phoenix Farah demonstrated her abilities with that power attack! The whole arena went up in smoke I got chills all over my body just by witnessing this. Jim, it looks like this is the end after all."


    "Compared to her, Adam is on the defensive, but it must be because he has a n."


    "I hope so because Farah doesn''t look like she intends to drag on this battle. Is Adam another overrated genius? We will find the answer soon!"


    Thementators were just doing their job but most of the spectators were just there to see Adam being beaten one-sidedly by Farah.


    They wanted to see something entertaining, and they wanted to see blood, and Adam felt like he was fighting inside of a roman coliseum.


    ''What are they hiding?'' Adam thought to himself. He hasn''t still found the reason why the Shadow king didn''t make his move yet despite noticing his presence. Therefore, he had begun to question everything that was happening and the connection between all of the events, as well as the probable oues.


    However, he couldn''t also ignore the girl in front of him as she made a very frustrated face, seeing that her attack didn''t even make Adam move an inch.


    Instead, a block of metal appeared in front of her, and even though it was about to melt due to the temperature, her attack didn''t reach Adam.


    Moreover, even though she could use her ability to stay in mid-air for a certain amount of time, her mobility was restricted so she decided to distance herself from Adam.


    Apart from the fact that her attack failed to reach Adam, she also became uneasy when she realized that Adam didn''t attack back.


    At first, she just thought that Adam was just another arrogant kid who was too confident in their ability. Thus, even though she didn''t know what exactly Adam''s gift was, she thought that it would be useless if she couldn''t use it.


    As such, she began to observe the man in front of her more seriously and discarded away the idea of finishing the battle with a single attack.


    "Farah Vyh zenain, what is your dream?"


    "Huh?!!"


    However, before she could even do anything, Adam closed the distance between them.


    He stood extremely close to her and looked down at her eyes as if he was looking at her soul.


    "What am I seeing? Jacob, is this even a battle?"


    "I don''t know Jim. I feel like I am looking at a theatrical y where an angel is trying to seduce a stubborn girl."


    "Well, that''s quite a detailed imagination."


    Farah didn''t understand what was happening and Adam''s question didn''t make any sense to her.


    However, she was taken aback. She was the kind of woman who discarded away the feelings that could lead her to fall in love or show any expression that could be considered a weakness.


    "Bastard!!! What are you doing?!" Among the audience, Derige''s voice could be heard and it was clear that he didn''t like what he was seeing.


    Nheless, after a few seconds, Farah regained herposure and immediately used a powerful attack enough to turn someone into ashes.


    She directed her attack at Adam''s face, using both of her hands to shoot zing fire from her palms while jumping back.


    Boom!


    "Hahaha! That''s my daughter! Burn him! Turn him into dust!!!" Derige shouted, and all of the other Guardians were extremely shocked to see him reacting like that. The image of him being a quiet and mysterious person disappeared from everyone''s mind.


    The headmaster justughed a little bit seeing him, but then an expression of concern appeared on her face, once again. As she feared, the Holy Academy''s test turned into something unsightly.

 Chapter 166 The Boy

    "Red Phoenix!"


    "Red Phoenix!"


    Farah continued to attack Adam without giving him the time to breathe, and each of her attacks was enough to annihte an entire building.


    The crowd felt the intensity of her attacks and her desire to win, but even though she tried to conceal it by showing a tense expression on her face, she was about to tire out.


    ''This can''t be! This humiliation! I would not ept this!'' Farah took Adam''s actions as a way to ascertain his superiority over her. Even if he didn''t attack, it would not mean that he would lose. In other words, she could never win against him because the gap between them was too wide.


    To someone as prideful as Farah, it would be uneptable to lose due to a ridiculous reason like exhaustion.


    Boom! Boom!


    As such, she did everything that she was capable of to take down the monster in front of her. Indeed, at some point, Adam had be a monster that she had to take down at any cost.


    ''Why? What''s going on? Why isn''t going down?'' She thought. Farah could somehow ept it from a person who she acknowledged.


    Therefore, the fact that she underestimated Adam made it worse, and she would look more miserable when after losing.


    There was no way for the crowd or anyone else to understand what she was feeling though. Most of the spectators were there to see action and explosions.


    "Burn him!" Some of them didn''t even hide their thirst for blood, even though it was supposed to be a simple test.


    Even nca felt uneasy as she watched the duel.


    "What is he doing?" nca mumbled to herself. "I know he is not ying around but... How can he be so confident?... Is it because of hisplicated ns?"


    Despite what was happening, nca was more concerned about Adam''s behavior, not only during the duel but during thest few days.


    Adam had already exined her n to her, but somehow she felt that there was something not right.


    nca understood that it was necessary to be prepared, but the way Adam did things, it looked like it would take years for them to reach their goal, and this made her feel impatient.


    Moreover, there were times when Adam acted bizarrely, as if he was thinking about something but still decided not to do anything.


    The thought that Adam might be just scared crossed her mind but from the way he spoke, she couldn''t perceive any fear in him.


    nca was not as smart as her sister, and Adam was probably smarter than both her and her sister, but she wasn''t stupid.


    She knew that there were things that Adam didn''t tell her, and she understood why he did that, but what if Adam also didn''t know what he was doing? What if he didn''t have the solution to their problems?


    To begin with, it appears like Adam was plotting something. Maybe she just assumed that Adam would always find the correct answer but in the end, he was also a human.


    "Don''t tell me¡­" All of those were just assumptions, but what if she overestimated him? What if she was wrong about him? "No, I shouldn''t be thinking like that. What would Noira have done if she was here?"


    [¡­]


    nca had never questioned the nature of her mission, and she was ready to fulfill her duty at any cost.


    However, for once, she decided to act based on her feelings and chose to trust Adam, a person that she had only met. Thinking about it that way, it was more strange if she didn''t have any second thoughts.


    What if she was wrong by choosing to trust him? What if¡­


    "So this is ice tea. Humans can indeed create interesting things."


    Suddenly, everything appeared to have faded away. It was as if nca was disconnected from reality.


    Everything was moving, but for some reason, it looked like she was watching her surroundings through a hazy ss.<sub> </sub>


    The loud cheering of the audience that made nca feel a little bit uneasy became nothing more than noises in the background.


    The only thing that appeared so clear was Adam and the individual who was sitting next to her. She didn''t know when they appeared, how long they were there, or who were they, but for some reason, she was rxed.


    "Who are you?" nca asked in a very polite tone, and she looked like she wasn''t even aware of what she was saying.


    "Our conversation wouldn''t be as enjoyable as it should be if I begin to talk about me. Do you want some iced tea?"


    For some reason, nca couldn''t refuse the mysterious individual''s offer and took the modern-looking bottle that contained the Empire''s most popr iced tea.


    This beverage was sold at the entrance of the enormous stadium where multiple duels were taking ce simultaneously.


    This fact made nca more confused about the mysterious person''s identity.


    She squinted her eyes and looked at the individual, trying to identify him, thinking back about the list containing the information of people that Adam asked her to keep an eye on.


    "I wonder how is he feeling now," the mysterious being said, his line of sight cast upon Adam. Seeing this, nca had also looked at Adam, and somehow he appeared different from how she always perceived him. He appeared¡­


    "Predicting the future is easy because it''s just the result. That''s why emotions are what makes a human a human. It''s hard to describe emotions, because most of the time, emotions are the origin of every irrational thing that makes humans, don''t you agree?"


    nca didn''t have the slightest idea about what the person next to her was trying to say.


    "Let me tell you a tragic story. There''d a boy. He loses his parents, he loses his friends, he loses the one he loves, and the one he trusted the most betrays him. If the boy was a normal person, he will end up like the one who caused his suffering. He would curse the world, wouldn''t he? After all, his reason to live would vanish. He needs a new reason to continue living, but death doesn''t even seem scary anymore. But how can he change his fate if he is powerless? In what way the saying that ''humans are haunted by their past would apply to him?''"


    The more the mysterious person spoke, the more nca felt an ipressible feeling. She didn''t even know what kind of emotion she was feeling. Maybe she was just confused, but why was she sad?


    Seeing her, the mysterious individual appeared to have smiled a little bit, or so nca felt even though she couldn''t memorize their face no matter how many times she tried.


    "I love talking. It makes me feel a bit closer to humans. If the boy is indeed a normal person, he will never reach the right answer because human emotions can''t be easily removed from the equation. If he did that, it would mean that he will discard what made him himself. So what would the boy do in your opinion? What is the correct answer?"


    nca didn''t know what to say, and she couldn''t even keep up with what the individual said.


    "It''s already toote, or so a normal person would think. But the boy is closer to me than any other human. Thanks for listening to me, I will reward you."


    For some reason, the mysterious continued talking as if they had already heard nca''s answer.


    Suddenly, the scenery changed and nca was taken by surprise. She couldn''t differentiate what was happening from what she considered the reality,


    "Sister¡­"


    Tears dropped from nca''s eyes as she rushed to her sister''s embrace. It felt so real. She could feel her sister''s warmth and her familiar smell.


    "nca? How? Where are you?"


    "I''ve been searching for you, Noira! How are you? Tell me where are you?! I¡­"


    However, before nca could exchange a few words with her sister, she was suddenly shrouded by darkness.


    "Why is it dark? Where is she? Cristal?" She shouted.


    After that, the darkness looked like it was being painted over, and the people who were cheering loudly appeared in nca''s field of vision again.


    However, the first thing that caught her eyes was Adam who was kneeling on the ground,


    "What happened, why is he crying? Cristal?" She asked in a more than confused tone."


    "Because a human would never do what he did. The human part of him is crying," the mysterious person mumbled, but nca didn''t see anyone, almost as if the voice was just an echo.

 Chapter 167 The Hidden Face Of The Empire

    "It''s time. There will be no turning back from here, my friend," A tall man wearing a long majestic robe said. His face was hidden behind a peculiar-looking mask made of metal, and there was not a hint of tension in his posture, but his tone was not as friendly as if talking to a friend when he said those words. It was more like a warning.


    "Why would I want to turn back now?" A man wearing a particr set of clothing, something that made the Fenririus n stand out, answered the masked man. His name was Zen Fenririus, the current head of the Fenrirus n.


    Zen didn''t appear in the least intimidated by the masked man, and from their conversation, it was clear that they worked together to achieve their respective objectives.


    The two men were currently standing in front of a big cylindrical tube filled with greenish liquid. Inside it, there was a person, and both Zen and the masked person had their eyes fixated on the individual.


    Apart from that, the room itself was filled with a lot of things that normal people would prefer not to see in their lives.


    "I am d to see that your determination hasn''t weakened, my friend. But fear not, everything is going ording to n. Let''s proceed to the next step," the masked man said with an unchanging tone, almost as if he was reading a line from a book.


    "¡­" Zen stayed silent for a few moments before talking. "Are you confident in yourplete victory?"


    "My predictions are never wrong, my friend," the masked man answered. "Do you think the price you are paying is too great?"


    "¡­" What the man said made Zen stay silent once again. "You already know what I think. To fear death is to fear life, but the rpense is worth the sacrifice."


    "We are about to annihte almost half of the beings in this world. I hope you don''t forget that you get to keep everything else, even more, by just making this sacrifice, my friend," the masked man rified.


    "I know that," Zen replied with a determined look on his face.


    As if satisfied by what he saw, the masked man turned and walked away from Zen.


    "I want the extracted fragment in an hour. Everything should be ready for the Harvest," the masked man as he faded away in the shadows.


    Zen was left alone inside the room along with all of the disturbing results of experimentation made on humans and various creatures.


    After the masked man left, however, another man appeared from the shadow.


    "I am also here to collect my rpense," the man said. The first thing that draw Zen''s attention was the sadistic smile on the man''s face. He was handsome and wore particr-looking sses. However, theb coat that he was wearing suggested that he was somehow rted to everything that was inside the room.


    "Arkel, I guess you heard him. Can you do this?" Zen said, looking at Drakel, one of the Guardians and known as God''s hands.


    Arkel put his hand on the tube and scrutinized the person inside. "Ahhh, this beauty! I already want to¡­ Hahaha. Of course, it will be done perfectly, Mr. Zen. However, I hope you don''t change your mind. She will be mine. Liu will be my wife as agreed," Arkel added, with an ecstatic expression.<sub> </sub>


    *****


    "Hahahahaha!" Laughter echoed inside therge and luxurious room. "I am amazed by that man! No, it''s just human nature, and I am no different from him in this aspect."


    The man held a ss of wine in his hand and wore a long robe, but he was still holding a mask in his other hand. He was standing in front of a transparent wall, inside of a structure built in space somewhere far from the, giving him a fantastic view of the Capital of the Empire.


    "Everything is going as nned. People love to see violence despite being scared of pain. It''s easy to fish them all with the right bait. I never thought that I would be able to do it, but now it just seems too easy, right? Don''t you agree? Hmmm, what did he call you, Cristal?" The man asked, and his silver long hair swayed as he turned and looked and the emotionless maid standing behind him.


    Cristal didn''t say anything and just stood there in silence. However, the man, or more precisely, the Emperor smirked. His face wasn''t as noble as how he looked when he appeared on the TV.


    "He thought that he was the chosen one, that he was standing at the top of his world. He was delusional, and there was no saving him," The Emperor continued, giving Cristal his back once again. "I was like him, and even now, I sympathize with him. His suffering would be immense."


    After saying these words, the Emperor took a sip of wine and sighed, almost as of he remembered something that made him feel angry, but he kept hisposure. He believed that he was close to achieving his goal.


    "How''re things proceeding?" He asked.


    "The warning was sent publically. The Raizel family and everyone rted to them will be taken down because of their attempt to overthrow the Emperor. As instructed, a reward would be given to the one who can capture Adam Von Kepalta, dead or Alive, and a warning that he is a very dangerous individual was added to this announcement. The Guardians were also tasked to kill Adam individually, and a more significant reward would be given to the one who can do so. All of this was made public an hour ago," Cristal said.


    She didn''t show any emotion on her face and the Emperor didn''t look at her. However, after hearing what she said, the Emperor nodded in satisfaction.


    "That woman should be already ready for the harvest and all of the elements needed for the great show in our hands," The emperor dered with a triumphal expression on his face. He could almost feel that his victory was within his grasp.


    "You can go now. Your presence would bring him despair, and the viewers will be more excited about his fall. They will never know that they are about to die at their turn. Such is the fate of all pathetic humans," he added.


    After that, Cristal left the room without making a sound, but the Emperor felt that her presence vanished.


    "How long have I been waiting for this day? Two hundred years, of maybe five hundred? I don''t know. I will never let anyone stand in my way this time. My revenge will be inevitable. They rejected me for being a human, and they will see how human I can be," The Emperor said to himself.


    ''Come to think of it, that Being referred to that kid as ''The son of God''. He, no was it she? Anyway, they was talking to Master as if he was above him, so they must be quite something. There is certainly something going on, but Master didn''t intervene in my ns. Still, none of that matters to me as long as I achieve my goal, no matter what anyone thinks of it. If anyone stronger appears to stop me, then I will just die!'' This time, the Emperor didn''t speak out loud and just thought to himself.


    "Hahahaha! Save them all Son of God! I will ept my defeat if I am stopped by the Son of God himself, wouldn''t I? Adam Von Kepta, you are really the perfect bait!"

 Chapter 168 The Plan

    All it took was a few wordsing from the mouth of the one who was at the top of the Empire.


    "...Adam Von Kepalta is a very dangerous individual. It pains me to say this, but he has betrayed the Empire, and I can''t tolerate such a thing in times like this where we need to work together based on trust and respect. As such, the Raizel family and every people to him will be immediately executed if they don''t cooperate. As for Adam Von Kepalta, the Guardians will take care of him and will show the world what happens to the traitors. It will be a warning for those who areplotting in the shadow. This is a royal decree and will take effect immediately."


    nca was frozen in ce, unable to process what was happening. Adam acted bizarrely, then a public announcement had somehow revealed everything that Adam has been plotting followed. His face was shown on the big screen and he looked like he had lost his mind.


    "It''s her! She is with him!"


    ? Shortly after the announcement, some people also took notice of nca''s presence and tried to apprehend her.


    nca didn''t let herself get caught easily and began to move. However, she everything was more and more confusing when she looked around her.


    "Cristal! Where are you? What''s going on?" nca tried to escape from the pursuers but there were too many of them. She wanted Cristal''s help as she rushed at Adam with the intention to punch him in the face and ask him to pull it together.


    She used her ultimate card in order to optimize their chance of getting out of this mess. She believed that Adam would be able to do something about it once he gathered his spirit, or so she hoped because if that wasn''t the case, everything would be for naught. And nca couldn''t ept that.


    How can someone like Adam fall into such a trap? Did she really overestimate his ability? She couldn''t tell, but the first thing she needed to do was to escape.


    However, before she could manage to get closer to Adam, a huge explosion urred.


    Boom!


    "Get away from my daughter!"


    An enraged voice followed the explosion. It was so intimidating that the people present there felt that it was not good to stay close to the arena where the duel between Adam and Farah took ce.


    The one who mmed his fist on the ground was none other than Farah''s father, Derige. However, all of the five other Guardians present there stood behind him.


    "Adam!" nca shouted as the shockwave from the attack propelled her backward.


    Derige didn''t use his gift intentionally because his daughter was there, but his physical strength was on a different level, even greater than Ruedeus''s.


    "Are you alright?" Derige asked, looking at his daughter.


    "I am fine," Farah replied, looking like she wasn''t really pleased by her father"s intervention.


    nca used this gap to dash forward toward Adam who was lying on the ground after being hit by the shockwave created by Derige''s attack. A crimson armor covered her whole body and various crimson weapon floated around her. She was in full battle mode.


    "Who is that woman?" One of the Guardians said. She was a petite woman who is often mistaken for a child. However, she has known as the Kaya the Destroyer for a reason.


    Along with her, Marina the Sorcerer, Cristoph the Mage, Nuiia the Illusionist, and Gerrard.<sub> </sub>


    "She is one of his aplices. Isn''t it obvious?" Cristoph said mockingly. "The reward for killing this kid is quite something. I wonder what''s the real reason. Well, whatever, gotta finish the job," he added.


    "Hey, who gave you the permission to take this Job for yourself?" Kaya asked menacingly.


    Looking at them, Marina just shook her head desperately, while Nuiia just looked distant, lost in her thoughts. As for Gerrard, his eyes were fixated on the screen of the device that he held in his hand.


    "What? Are you saying that this guy won''t be handled unless we work together? That''s cute, but I am more than enough. I don''t want to waste any more time, you see. And the best way to make sure that everything will be done quickly is to do it by myself," Cristoph said.


    "Anh? Are you trying me?" Kaya asked menacingly.


    However, before anyone could say anything, Derige said something. "He is mine."


    The strongest said that Adam was his prey, and the other Guardians were surprised by Derige''s tone and the way he acted. However, they all thought that this was an opportunity to see Derige''s real power.


    "What about the woman?" Kaya asked.


    "If she gets in the way, she will regret her choice," Derige said.


    Kaya didn''t say anything anymore and just showed her palms to show that she wouldn''t interfere.


    Nheless, Derige''s actions were just pure hypocrisy and somehow he took what Adam did to Farah personally. In addition to the announcement, he was sure that Adam was evil and a maniptor.


    "Woman! Surrender now, and I will spare your life," Derige said with a very authoritative tone.


    nca and Adam were surrounded and even though Nuiia looked like she was dreaming, her gift gave her the ability to create invisible walls all around the arena.


    nca didn''t say anything and just looked at Derige fearlessly. She noticed that Adam had somehow lost consciousness, and if she ran away and left him behind, her chance of surviving would increase.


    Nheless, something prevented her from taking this rational decision. Before, fulfilling her duties was the most important thing for her, and she didn''t hesitate to leave her friends behind to aplish them. Then, the incident involving her sister urred, shaking her beliefs.


    Adam promised that he would help her find her sister, but he was now lying on the ground at the mercy of the people that he said he had the upper hand on.


    nca was more than confused after talking to that mysterious being, and now everything became iprehensible all of sudden. Cristal was gone and Adam acted almost as if he was a child who lost his parents.


    "As you wish," Derige said, looking at nca who was standing in front of Adam.


    After that, every time Derige took a step forward the ground melted and turned intova. He turned into a walking volcano and everything that came in contact with him turned into ashes.

 Chapter 169 The Plan (Part 2)

    The hunt had begun and using the words of the Emperor as an excuse, some people began to perpetuate horrible acts on their peers, just because they were rted to the Raizel family.


    This was the work of the hands of justice, or so these people named their actions as they beat down young boys and girls, leaving them in a pool of blood, half dead.


    Traitors must be punished severely or so these people shouted as they removed the young girls'' clothes, beating them, and pretended to do it for the sake of giving a warning.


    The more the people rted to the Raizel family defended themselves, the more these monsters disguised as humans felt pleasure in hunting them down like rabbits.


    This was also the reason why nca was surrounded by people thirsting for blood, and even Derige was no different from her point of view.


    ''What should I do now?'' nca thought to herself. Everything should have been progressing ording to the n, and Adam was so confident about his sess. Where did things go wrong?


    For the first time aftering to the empire, she felt that she was really in the enemy''s territory.


    She knew that she wasn''t strong enough to protect herself and save Adam, and this made her bit her lips. Was she wrong about everything? Did she choose to ally with the wrong person?


    A lot of questions crossed nca''s mind, and if it was the old her before meeting Adam and deciding to trust him, she wouldn''t be so confused about such a thing.


    Nheless, she didn''t run away, even after seeing the walking volcano in front of her.


    The atmosphere began to heat up and it was hard to breathe. The close people began to distance themselves and looked excited to watch the show. They were about to witness the power of the strongest Guardian, and it was not every day that Derige disyed his power in public.


    The heat emanating from Derige continued to increase and the crimson blood around nca began to vaporize.


    nca felt that this situation was bad, and even though she was strong, her special power would be useless if her attacks couldn''t reach Derige.


    As such, she attacked Derige without holding back and as fast as she could, to the point that human eyes couldn''t even follow the crimson weapons rushing toward Derige, aiming at his head, heart, and stomach.


    Swoosh! Shoowsh!


    nca''s attack, however, was in vain, as everything that was 2 meters around Derige turned into ashes or melted away like snow.


    Even though Derige wasn''t invincible, he was called the strongest for a reason, and that was his sheer destructive power.


    The elemental gift of fire was not as convenient as particr gifts that could elerate time, but when the holder managed to evolve his gift into an authority, it was apletely different matter.


    Authorities could bend thew of nature and even alter certain aspects of the reality. For example, it would be impossible for all of the energy inside the sun to be contained in a human body.


    However, Derige''s authority turned his body into a star core, something simr to the core of sun.


    That came with drawbacks, of course, because Derige could die anytime due to his body exploding but despite this risk, the list of substances that could withstand being exposed to the energy emanating from the sun was not that long, and blood was not one of them even if it was something as special as nca''s blood.


    The fight had already ended, and nca knew that she didn''t stand a chance against Derige even if she could probably stand toe to toe against some of the other Guardians.<sub> </sub>


    When Dirige activated his power, it was hard to stop him, and the gift of his opponents was almostpletely useless.


    nca felt the inside of her mouth and her lips drying up, and the vaporization of the crimson blood around her elerated as Derige neared.


    Even though nca noticed that Derige was slow and she could probably grab Adam and run away, her instinct told her that she would die along with Adam if she moved.


    Almost every person present around the huge Colosseum had already evacuated, and Derige took his time in order to let these people leave.


    As for the other Guardians, Nuiia used her power to create an invisible box that could let them stand in mid-air while protecting them from the heat.


    They were looking down at what was happening, and some of the devices used to record the event were next to them. In other words, people all around the universe saw that Adam was about to get killed, almost as if he was being executed.


    Apart from the guardians, a person wearing the outfit of an imperial maid along with a particr mask made of metal floated in the air and observed the situation.


    The whole setting was simr to what Adam saw in his vision, but unlike the fallen hero, he had nca by his side.


    Countless people were watching the end of Adam''s adventure and saw him as a viin that deserved death despite not knowing anything about him.


    Innocent people were dying, children were screaming in pain, women were abused and raped, and all of that was because of Adam and his n. Would have things ended up differently if he decided to just live a normal life? Probably not.


    In fact, his life would have been way worse because he was not given the choice since the beginning. No one was given the choice. People couldn''t choose to be born as gods, after all. Otherwise, who would want to die as a human?


    "The synchronization was¡­  a sess¡­"


    nca was startled and turned to look behind her. To her surprise, she saw Adam trying to stand up while grabbing his head with his hand, and looked almost as if he was disoriented.


    "Adam! We need to get out of here quickly!" She shouted. nca had once again believed that Adam would find a way out of this critical situation. She trusted Adam more than she thought she would.


    Hearing nca, Adam looked in front of him and saw Derige. He could also feel the abnormally high temperature in the atmosphere.


    However, Adam didn''t show any reaction and looked almost as if he lost his ability to feel any emotion.


    He stood up and walked toward nca. "Sorry, I can''t save you in this life. You suffered enough, and I don''t want you to witness what happens next. Rest now, and when you wake up, you will find yourself in a better world."


    Adam put his hand on nca''s shoulder and then she fell to her knees with her eyes closed. She looked rxed and almost at peace. Her body then transformed into beautiful crimson Red spider lily flowers, which were turned into ashes shortly after.


    Adam didn''t let any emotion show on his face, almost as if he already knew that all of this would happen.


    "I am going to carry everything with me. I will not leave anything behind. Nothing is lost," Adam mumbled.

 Chapter 170 What Is A God?

    "Hahaha! This is fascinating! Can he still be called a human?" Inside a room situated far away from the Empire''s main, the Emperor had a grin on his face and his voice was full of enthusiasm and fascination because of what he was seeing.


    In front of him was footage showing Adam standing, looking up to the sky as if some of the memories that he had somehow forgotten areing back to him.


    "I see, so he fooled himself to prevent me from knowing his actual progression. Making a copy of his brain that can act independently without him needing to be involved in the process of thinking was indeed the best way to ovee my ability. However, what is this?"


    At the same time, Adam began the synchronization, various information had also begun to pop up inside of the Emperor''s mind as a result of using his ability, the one which allowed him to conquer the Empire.


    However, as the Emperor continued to read Adam''s mind, he made a face that he had never made before. He had experienced great suffering in his life, and he made a lot of different expressions until the day he could only smile andugh at everything.


    "He was a monster hiding inside of a human skin¡­" he cried.  "No, even a monster wouldn''t think of something like this. How could a person reach this kind of conclusion? No, he is not a monster nor is he the Son of God. He thinks of himself as God. Hahaha haha! Still, it''s unavoidable¡­ My master seems to have predicted this oue."


    Even though everything else seemed worthless apart from his desire for vengeance in the Emperor''s eyes, he was somehow aware of his position and acknowledged that there were entities that could not antagonize. The one whom he called master was one of such entities.


    "¡­ But as expected, Cristal was a double-edged sword. Joshua must have betrayed me at some point. It seems like I need to speed things up¡­ This may be the best time to use those. I wonder how he will react."


    As he said these words, the Emperor made his way to a hidden room. The room wasrge but it was filled withrge metallic cables that appeared to connect torge devices. At the center of the room, however, a single chair could be seen and all of the cables originated from this precise location.


    The Emperor sat down on top of the throne-like chair and put a helmet that was connected to the whole system by cables if it could be called so, then closed his eyes.


    "Let''s begin the final phase."


    *****


    Adam was looking up to the sky with apletely emotionless face and nk eyes.


    Nheless, there was nothing to be confused about. This was the only answer, and the future he set his eyes upon was just ahead. Still¡­


    The rain started pouring down as if trying to wash away the tears and the cries of those who were about to die.


    How did ite to this? Adam had already stopped thinking about such a thing, but to reach this conclusion, he needed to answer one question.


    ''What is a God?''


    An entity that exists to be worshipped? An entity that dictates rules? An entity that is beyond humans'' understanding? An entity that inspires fears? An entity¡­ No, these were concepts created by those who feared being in total ignorance.


    God didn''t exist, at least for some people. But the moment someone dares to put their faith in something they couldn''t see, they have already created a God.<sub> </sub>


    However, there are ask believers, those who wanted salvation. God was a form of salvation. God was kind. God was forgiving. God was theirs alone¡­


    So, how many Gods are there? Again, what is a God?


    After being born again, Adam had seriously given some thought to the existence of God. Was his rebirth God''s will?


    If so, was everything that happened and was about to happen also God''s will? And that unchangeable future ahead of him¡­ No, that wasn''t the case. At least, this was the conclusion Adam reached.


    He had to look at things from a different perspective, discarding the pre-established concepts, moral values, and ideas that he believed in. He needed to reject everything about him, everything that made him himself.


    The question was why? Adam had already changed and be a better version of himself. Looking back at his ugly self, he could see the difference as clear as day. He was more intelligent, more powerful, and had people that loved him. Nheless, that was just if he was looking at things while thinking that everything was centered around him.


    Was he someone special? Yes. Was he the lucky chosen one? Yes. Was he God? No. Thatst question shouldn''t even be relevant to a lot of people. Why would they ask themselves this question?


    However, for Adam, this was the most important question that he needed to answer. Because, unless he was God, he would be nothing more than a monster deprived of humanity.


    He always knew that he couldn''t protect those who were important in his eyes, those who he held dead in his heart. It was inevitable that they would disappear¡­ He couldn''t do anything about it.


    As such, he tricked himself, he rejected him he still didn''t lose hope. He killed this version of himself to reach the answer he was looking for.


    The previous Adam chose to y his enemies to protect those who were important to him, to create a world in which he could finally feel at peace, and be happy. He was determined¡­


    But what if by wishing for all of this, by wanting for all of this to happen, what if by doing so, he was rejecting his humanity? When this thought crossed Adam''s mind, he began to waver. He already felt that he was changing, at first for the better, but what if he continued to change?


    Indeed, these questions appeared to be just some kind of unnecessary thoughts. Something not worth thinking about¡­ After all, humans areplex creatures.


    But¡­ There was one thing Adam couldn''t ignore. For some reason, the course of events was leading him into an endless vicious circle. He will try to save them, be he will fail to protect them, then he will lose himself¡­ In other words, never-ending suffering. Pain, agony, suffering¡­ And more suffering.


    Adam caught a glimpse of this¡­ It was just an insight, but he became aware of the truth. He caught a glimpse of the possibilities, but never a way out.


    The nature of his power was the highest hint, and when before he reached the real answer, he killed himself.


    When he did so, he finally found the answer to his question. ''A God doesn''t exist inside someone else''s creation.''

 Chapter 171 What Is A God? (Part 2)

    Everyone present around the coliseum and witnessed everything that was happening had their eyes pointed at Adam and the unexinable phenomenon that stopped made Derige stop advancing.


    Even though it was raining, not a single raindrop managed to get close to Adam. The ground in his immediate surrounding waspletely dry.


    Despite that, no one knew what he was thinking, and it was not like they couldn''t see what Adam was doing. The reason why it made them question their ability to differentiate what was real from illusion, despite the existence of gifts and monsters, was because of their sense perception.


    Adam prated the space in front of him with his left hand as if prating the surface of a vast ocean.


    As he did, it looked almost as if his life force, his vitality was sucked out of him, resulting in him losing the color of his hair and his body turning extremely pale.


    No one understood what was happening but somehow their instinct told them that they should not move.


    It might have been their imagination, but at some point, the raindrops appeared to move in slow motion.


    ''What''s going on?'' Every person there, at that moment, asked the same question in their head.


    <o>,m Not even a few minutes ago, Adam appeared to be cornered and lost all hope, all will to resist.</o>


    They could never imagine that everything was just a bluff. Even the Emperor who could read people''s minds couldn''t see through it. After all, Adam himself didn''t know about his trick until the time hade.


    The time when he finally found the answer to the first question led to the discovery of the first pieces of the puzzle. In other other words, the first step into creating a God.


    Nheless, few are the entities capable of thinking that could understand Adam''s actions.


    Why did he need to be a God? What was his aim? Why would he need to think about all of those? What''s the point? Shouldn''t everything be easier?


    Adam had never stopped thinking about these questions. Indeed, it would be easier if he didn''t know. However, this was ''the curse of knowledge. The more he knew, the more the questions that needed to be answered began to increase. What would happen if the person close to him died? What if he just lived an easy life? Would thatst forever? But what exactly is it to live an easy life? What is life? How to live? What is happiness? It couldn''t be stopped¡­ His thought process couldn''t be stopped.


    The moment that the idea that he could achieve great things with his power took root inside of his mind, he couldn''t ignore it. A person like him, who had never experienced what exactly to be happy couldn''t ignore it.


    If he could finally experience happiness, he didn''t hesitate to destroy every obstacle in front of him, and that was what he thought, he genuinely believed that he could do so during his second life.


    However, every time he thought about the perfect conclusion, the best answer, there would be always a better alternative, as well as new challenges.


    But he had his almost godly power, so why wouldn''t he want to achieve the most ideal conclusion, so he continued to think¡­ To think¡­ Then he saw what insanity looked like. His strength was his biggest weakness.


    However, at that point, he couldn''t stop anymore. His knowledge wouldn''t leave him in ignorance.


    The scariest fact of all was that all of this happened only in one night. Adam couldn''t even imagine if he lived like that from there.


    Something about his realization induced fear inside Adam''s heart. After all, whenever he imagined himself walking down the path to search for this perfect happiness, he was alone.


    In the end, Adam was just a human. Like any other human, everything he did was for his sake and for those who were important to him.


    It should be normal for him to be scared, to fear the unknown, unpredictable future. But, the reason why Adam decided to reject this version of himself was that he began to doubt everything that he believed in.


    It was almost as if he had caught a disease that affected his mind. No matter how many times he rethought his n, he could never be certain where it will lead him. He began to doubt the people around him and questioned himself if it was worth it. What if he lost and everything his struggle was meaningless? What if¡­ What if¡­


    Adam was under the impression that he was being monitored and the whole world was working against him.


    But he was strong so he should protect those who love him, and he would in consequence go against the world. However, he felt that his insight on the matter was extremely limited.


    Thus, in addition to ''the curse of knowledge, he also agonized for not knowing.


    Despite all that, Adam was a peculiar individual, and this is why each human is extremely unique. Just a little detail that couldn''t be exined, an emotion that wasn''t logical and led to an illogical train of thought.


    ''Does a God feel emotions? And if they do, what makes them different from a human?


    Greediness. At that time, Adam thought about a way to be good without giving up what made him a human.<sub> </sub>


    It was such an arrogant way of thinking. A God could have everything, could they not?


    However, this idea leads to moreplex issues. Mostly to the question, ''What is a God?''


    Under normal circumstances, it was extremely rare, almost impossible for a human to even think about this kind of thing.


    However, Adam''s personality and everything that happened led him to this question.


    The person who previously felt irrelevant and worthless was suddenly given the chance to achieve great things. However, the reality wasn''t as forgiving as it should have been even after Adam received his godly power. That was exactly why he couldn''t and put his entire being into finding a way to achieve everything he couldn''t in his previous life.


    The only problem was that he couldn''t determine what exactly the perfect answer was. After all, everything he thought about could be easy to destroy.


    As such, he began to thought how to create a world that could never be destroyed. That was one concern, but there was also the fact that his happiness wasn''t necessarily other people''s happiness, and this was the root of all evil.


    As such, no matter how much he thought about it, in the end, in this world, he was always alone. This was the only perfect solution.


    Adam as a human, however, couldn''t ept that. Selfishness.


    He was at loss and became more and more insure. But he continued to think¡­ And think¡­ And think again¡­


    It took a long time for him to notice that his power was the biggest hint. How could a universe exist inside of him? Adam had heard about the theory of the 10 dimensions in his previous life, and from this, he began to wonder.


    Theoretically, was said that humans could only imagine and perceive things at a 10 dimension. Everything possible and imaginable was covered.


    If things could be perceived in such a way, then how could the universe inside of him be perceived? And what kind of being would be able to perceive it?


    A higher being from a higher dimension could manipte the reality of those living in a lower dimension. As such, they could create and alter things.


    As such, gifts were the result of the evolution of humans into a higher dimension, Adam concluded.


    As such, if he evolved, he would be able to control his ability. At that moment, Adam realized why he needed to collect the tree fragments. When he absorbed Vert, he could ess the universe inside of him, which implied that she was not an existence that was restricted to their dimension.


    The tree fragments were truly the key¡­


    Another arrogant thought popped inside Adam''s mind. However, it was only if it was perceived from a human point of view.


    ''I should create the dimension in which the universe I created exists,'' Adam said to himself. No matter how many dimensions, and universes, existed, the only one who can perceive them all was God. A being who didn''t exist inside someone else''s creation.


    No matter how ridiculous it sounded, this was the only n that Adam could call his own.


    Once Adam reached this conclusion, his way of seeing and considering things changed.


    He needed to be a God, else, it would be just the birth of a monster deprived of humanity.


    In his eyes, nothing was lost, as long as achieved his goal. Regret wasn''t necessary nor was there a need to feel sadness.


    If he could achieve the 11 dimensions, and ascend into a higher level being, he would be able to perceive the existence of everything that existed, exists, and will exist.


    The events that were happening were just part of aplex puzzle that could be put together again even if destroyed.


    ''A God doesn''t exist inside someone else creation because they are nothingness.''


    This was Adam''s answer, and a certain entity looked at him with an expression that could be described as a smile.


    "It''s not clear yet, but he is getting there. Choosing him wasn''t a mistake."

 Chapter 172 What Is A God? (Part 3)

    Derige was only taken aback for a few seconds, then he regained his cool and decided that it was too dangerous to underestimate Adam.


    His most powerful attack may cause a lot of damage to the city, but for some reason, he didn''t even think about such things at that moment. His body began to heat and glow a dazzling orange light as if he was gathering a massive amount of energy inside of his chest.


    The other guardians understood what was happening they saw Derige and prepared to leave the area to avoid being caught in the explosion that will certainly pulverize the whole area into atoms.


    However, at moment, Adam raised his head slightly and turned his line of sight, which was previously focused on his hand, in Derige''s direction.


    Derige managed to take a look at Adam''s face. It was devoid of emotion, and almost as if his vitality was drained out. Dark eyes, almost as if they didn''t reflect eyes. His face was pale and his cheeks had somehow withered, almost lifeless.


    He didn''t resemble the young man shown in the wanted poster to the least and that made Derige feel pity for him. The first thought that came into Derige''s mind was that Adam was trying to use some kind of desperate method to get out of the situation.


    ''How did the young man in front of him end up like this¡­'' Or so Derige thought as he was about to eliminate Adam. As the protector of the Empire, he would not give Adam the time to do more harm.


    Derige also thought that the Empire was corrupt, but he believed that someone like Adam was not better because he knew that everyone was ready to do anything for the sake of their satisfaction.


    People may say that they prefer peace and dislike violence, but that was only because it satisfied their desire. And when they were faced with a challenge that threaten their ideal way of life, they used this as a reason to fight, because they believe that it was their right.


    In that case, they were not different from those who liked violence and inflicting pain on their peers. These people also feel satisfied with their way of life, they were addicted to it. Same with those who like to manipte others, they also believed that they were superior and it was their right to do so.


    Therefore, Derige never questioned if what he did was bad or good, as long as he was alive to see his daughter growing up. That was the thought of the man who was called the strongest.


    In front of this man, Adam didn''t flinch. Adam was about to learn a vital truth that was only revealed to those who were worthy so to him, Derige and the other guardians mattered not. He had already wagered everything on the future him, and his present self as well as what he considered as his life in this present time was about to be sacrificed.


    Hence, as if it was the crystallization of his thoughts, as if he was saying ''don''t get in my way'', a single ck circle appeared next to Derige. No matter from which angle this pitch-ck circle was observed, it could be only seen as a t circle. However, despite the dazzling light emanating from Derige, the ck circle remained pitch ck.


    Derige didn''t even notice it, and it was toote when he did. The space around the ck circle was distorted unnaturally as if forming a spiral with the circle at the center.


    Adam was mistaken about one thing. The antimatter was not the final form of the Authority called Destruction. The antimatter couldn''tpletely destroy the fabric of reality and all of its dimensions. However, the authority of Destruction could.


    Adam also used this ability to insert his hand inside the space in front of him.


    And to be able to do all of this, Adam first needed to grasp the concept behind ''Nothingness''.


    Everything in its immediate surrounding spiraled inside the ck circle as it got bigger.


    Derige only noticed what was happening when almost half of his body disappeared. The energy inside of him exploded abruptly, causing his own death.


    However, the explosion was big enough to destroy the whole Colosseum. Boom. It was then followed by a shockwave and the ground trembled violently.


    Adam was caught in the explosion, but the other guardians used their power to contain the explosion. Even Nuiia who seemed in a daze most of the time looked extremely serious.


    "Father!" Farah cried, and the other guardians narrowed their eyes as if they were trying to figure out what exactly was happening. It all happened so fast.


    When the smoke and the mass of dust in the air dissipated, the silhouette of a person could be seen.<sub> </sub>


    It was Adam who was caught in the explosion. His clothes were almost destroyed and his body was covered with wounds. However, a wrecked back cape hung on his back preventing him from falling.


    The explosion was contained but all of its power was directed to the ground, creating a huge hole in the floating ind.


    The other guardians began to observe Adam with caution, but they had almost the same thoughts. ''He killed Derige!''


    Adam saw the explosioning, but he couldn''t move for a very particr reason. His left waspletely gone, but as a result, he was sure that his reasoning wasn''t wrong.


    In front of him was the crystallization of what he called ''nothingness'', something he dragged into this dimension at the cost of his arm and almost all his internal organs.


    To exin the nature of nothingness, one needed to understand from the nothing.


    When one says, ''there''s nothing'' they often referred to the thing that they could see and couldn''t see most of the time. It was different from what ''exists'' and what ''does not exists''


    The universe exists, and a lot of things exist within it. As such, someone who existed inside of this universe would never understand what ''Does not exist'' meant. When they came into existence, they were already inside of an existing universe, and when they disappear they would still remain inside of this universe. Even if they evolve into a higher dimensional being, and go to the afterlife, if a higher gave them this privilege, the Being itself would still be inside of this universe. Because, even if they were to return to nothing, the universe still existed. Even higher dimensional beings could only interfere with something that exists.


    Thus, no one could observe what ''Does not exist'' looked like. Unless they reached the Second Primordial Dimension. This dimension was an endless ''Nothingness'' the crystallization of ''Does not exist.


    Adam concluded that maniption of ''Nothingness'' is the ultimate power of the ''Creation'' authority, and returning what was created into ''Nothingness'' was the power of the ''Destruction'' authority.


    The conclusion didn''t sound that impressive but it was also the origin of all things. Beyond that, like how the ''Nothingness'' was created and who created it was something unanswerable. The ultimate truth that the God of Void wanted to uncover.


    The ''nothingness'' was not some kind of matter or any kind of substance. It couldn''t be associated to the term existence. It was just ''Nothingness'', and the word to describe it perfectly didn''t even exist because no one even what it was.


    When everything disappeared, only nothingness remains, but nothingness can''t destroy nothingness. Therefore, the story about the God of Void and the God of Creation didn''t make sense.


    As such, no one could exin what they saw. After all, apart from the space that was distorted, they couldn''t see anything. It was beyond their ability to perceive nothingness.


    This was Adam''s limit. He still couldn''t manipte nothingness. But the answer was there, a way to create the perfect world.


    From the point of view of an entity that could manipte nothingness and nothingness itself, the whole existence of the multiverse and everything was just a grain of sand. However, it was also a lonely ce. A ce, a situation that a human who had a human mindset would never achieve orprehend.


    God surely has emotions, it was just that no one can understand what they feel. The one who is truly omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent was an entity that couldn''t be described.


    As for Adam, he aimed to find a way to maintain his humanity while possessing the power of this ultimate being. A truly arrogant thought.


    The tree fragments just looked like a tree, but after his realization, Adam realized that they were part of an entity that could be considered a God.


    ''I am insane¡­ This is insane¡­'' Adam thought. How did he end up thinking about such a thing?


    The knowledge that he acquired was heavy, so heavy that he felt like he just stopped thinking.


    He didn''t know what would have happened if he just forgot about the face of those he loved, even for a second¡­

 Chapter 173 What Is A God (Part 4)

    Under the gloomy sky, Adam began to gather his thoughts once again, beginning with a recollection of the event that led him to do what he did.


    The rain started pouring down as if masking the massacre that was urring within the Empire.


    The aggressors never doubted anything, enjoying their hunt, and the victims yed their roles and run around like rabbits. The spectators were thrilled by what they were seeing, also not doubting anything.


    All of that had little importance to Adam, as he continued to contemte the nothingness in front of him and wondered if this was the right choice. However, he quickly discarded this so human-like way of thinking.


    Instead, he focused on the facts and their unavoidable consequences as well as what he needed to do to change his fate. Adam had clearly a goal, and he had also devised a n to achieve it, but somewhere along the line, he had realized something.


    One of the biggest keys to Adam''s change of mind was none other than Cristal. But there was also Joshua, a certain scientist that came to Adam''s home. Then Rudeus, the one who he had warned him. Was there some kind of connection between these three?


    Adam was depending on Cristal a little bit too much, and he was aware of it. However, he always thought about the possibility that Cristal would be gone someday, or that Cristal might be corrupted by the enemy. Of course, he never wanted all of those assumptions to be a reality but that was the kind of person he was. Always thinking¡­


    Joshua, on the other hand, appeared to be working on a project and he was also interested in Adam. At first, Adam didn''t give that much thought to their connection nor did he see through Joshua''s actions.


    However, Adam was warned by Rudeus, his enemy. He wasn''t stupid as to just ignore what Rudeus said, but his thoughts led him to one conclusion. He was being observed. The question was what kind of method did the enemy use?


    Then there were also Pride''s words about the viiness. What If he referred to Cristal? Was there a possibility? At the least, Adam couldn''t ignore this theory even if he trusted Cristal.


    In addition to this, Adam became more anxious when he looked back at his interaction with Cristal. He noticed that on multiple asions, Cristal had purposely decided to not tell him various information even if he asked. It was indeed something strange, but he tried to not think too much about it until he heard what Rudeus said.


    Was the form of mutual trust that Adam thought he formed with Cristal an illusion? No, that was wrong of thinking, to begin with, because Cristal was an Artificial Intelligence.No matter how much he wanted to deny it if someone wanted to observe him, using Cristal would be the best way to do it.


    However, Adam also needed to determine the reason why an enemy would do so. What was their identity? And a realistic way to corrupt Cristal. Otherwise, he would be just too paranoid.


    That was when he thought about the project that Joshua had. He was working on something like a device that could send and receive some sort of signal. At that time, he thought it was something to an antenna but what if it was something different?


    Adam wracked his brain to resolve this puzzle. The chance that he was just being delusional was high but despite what he aplished li, if Cristal backstabbed him, everything would be for naught.


    However, no matter how hard he thought about it, he could never reach a convincing answer.


    At the same time, seeing his father''s condition made Adam think that it was a miracle that he and his family were still alive. However, that wouldn''tst and the worse was unavoidable.


    Adam never showed his anxiety because he was now powerful and dependable. He couldn''t show any weakness when his family looked at him with such respect, something that never happened before. He had struggled internally like any other human, and even worse, the more he expected something from himself, the more he agonized other the fact that maybe it wasn''t enough.


    What did he wish for? A quiet and peaceful life? Yes. However, no he could not also lie to himself. He wanted more¡­ He was greedy, he always was.


    The fact that he could lose everything anytime and that he couldn''t do anything about it made Adam feel a sort of agony that he never felt before when he didn''t have the things he now had.


    Adam''s habit to overthink was not always a bad thing, but looking so far ahead was not always a good thing. But Adam continued to think about how to face the unavoidable. This might also be the reason why that mysterious being chose him in the first ce¡­<sub> </sub>


    Anyway, Adam concluded that unless he did something to prevent those who observed him to know the conclusion that he would reach when he solved all of the puzzles, he didn''t have a chance.


    It was not like everything was doomed, but that also didn''t mean that Adam could save everyone. No, he couldn''t save anyone. Thus, he had to make a choice.


    After all, he couldn''t have everything he wanted. He was not yet a being that could decide such a thing.


    The solution that Adam found was to make a replica of him while the real version of him would be an astral form and stay inside the universe within him. This was the only way he could avoid being observed so no one would know the conclusion he would reach.


    There was no guarantee, however, that he would find the best answer just by thinking, and how could he create a replica of himself that could use his body, to begin with? A being that was him, but also a version of him who hadn''t reached this conclusion yet. In other words, he would fail to protect the people important to him if his prediction were to be true.


    Adam finally found a way to split his consciousness into two. What he did was prettyplicated. First, he needed to lose consciousness, and when he woke up, his memory would stay inside the silver sand within his astral body, and another version of him with an iplete memory will remain inside his real body.


    Adam didn''t know how exactly he did, but for some reason, he felt like something made the process easier. Almost as if everything went well without him having a total understanding of what he was doing. There were still things that he couldn''t understand.


    Adam was conscious when he was inside the ce of silver sand and time seemed to flow differently. Now, what he needed to do was to wake his body up, but instead of him regaining control, he will let another version of himself take control. The one that he rejected¡­ For a while, he would be able to spend time the way he wanted with his family.


    Adam made a decision, a painful one¡­ In the end, his fears turned into reality, and after spending almost fifty years wandering around the silver sea, doing nothing but thinking, he had finally reached a point when he could be considered insane or enlightened. If he decided to continue to act like he always did, and ignored all of his doubts, he would have not reached this conclusion and would have died fighting the guardians.


    Now that Adam made it back, he also knew that he was still not strong enough to turn things around or to save everyone, but at least he found a way to create a weapon capable of destroying this who imed to be gods and also helping him find all of the tree fragments.


    However, looking at the nothingness, Adam muttered, "I failed." Nothing was happening, he couldn''t do anything about the nothingness.


    What was missing? Did I miss something? Adam thought. However, he was already in a very bad position.


    "Just this once, I will give you a hint¡­ Why does your gift activate when you wish to activate it?" The voice said. Adam thought he was hallucinating and he looked around.


    Nheless, Adam didn''t know what the voice meant, so he only had one option for the time being. Run.


    *****


    "Let''s do this!" Kaya shouted and rushed at Adam. Her gift was something simr to psychokinesis. However, it was more about her having control over the totality of the space enveloped by her aura.


    "Ya!"


    "Support us, Nuiia!"


    The guardians saw Adam attempt to run and began to chase after him. However, even though Adam couldn''t do anything about the nothingness he could still control the dark matter and made a simple sword out of it, which he held with his right arm.


    His next destination was already set. He had to see her¡­ He knew that he had let her down, but he hoped that he wasn''tte. Just like a typical human, Adam''sst human-like thought was that Liu and would go on this journey together¡­ Something that was now, a mere dream.

 Chapter 174 Liu Vyh Fenrirus

    Liu Vyh Fenrirus. A woman that was said to be the next head of the Fenrirus n. However, Liu herself never believed in such a thing. She couldn''t even imagine her father who treated her like a failure going his way to appoint her as the next head.


    After all, her father, Zen Von Fenrirus was a despicable man. A man who only cared about himself, and nothing else, no one else.


    Long ago, when Liu was still a young child, she used to spend time with her brother Kang. Kang was a free-spirited person, but he was also very caring, or so how Liu remembered him. She had never felt any distance between him and his brother despite him being much older than her.


    She liked to hear about her brother''s journey and about the things that he wanted to do. And when she talked about her dream, he would listen to her and give her advice.


    Even though she was still young at that time, she could tell that her brother was a person that she could look up to.


    "Someday, I will go and explore the world. There are many interesting things in this world, you know. Like that sea creature! Gigantic, wasn''t it?" said Kang, one day while Liu and he were chatting in their family''s beautiful garden.


    Kang had juste back from a mission that his father asked him to perform.


    "The Gi-gizolosaure?" Little Liu tilted her head as she couldn''t quite remember the name of the creature.


    "Hahaha. It''s Gizolore." Kang helped Liu to remember with a kind tone. "This creature is as big as our mansion, you know?"


    "If it''s so big¡­ What does it eat?" Liu asked curiously.


    Kang was a little surprised by Liu''s question, but then he smiled. "I heard that you are not obedient, the Gizolore will appear in your dream and eat you," he said, and grabbed Liu by her waist and lifted her in the air.


    "Brotherrr! I am not a kid anymore!!" Liu protested.


    Most of the time, their discussion wasn''t that long orplex, but Liu just felt like she could tell anything about her brother. It might not be something special in other people''s eyes, but for Liu, her brother was the closest person to her. She held onto all of these precious memories as she grew up, and they shaped her personality.


    "Kang." Like every time, however, the voice of this man caused Liu to shiver. He always appeared as if trying to separate her and her brother.


    This man, her father, had rarely called her name, and when he did, it was to remind her about how unwanted she was in his eyes.


    Fortunately, her brother was there. She believed that one day, she would go with her brother on his journey, far from this ce¡­ That was why what happened next broke her. Liu was 14 at that time.


    "What?!" Zen''s voice echoed throughout the whole residence. The reason was Kang''s deration. "What did you just say, Kang?!"


    "You heard me, father. I can''t do this anymore. I have my ambition, and my dream, you don''t have the right to take them from me. During these 20 years, I have always followed your orders, and did those¡­ I don''t even know why I had to do all of those things," Kang said with unwavering determination. He should have known what confronting his father head-on implied, however, he had his limits and he didn''t want to let his father control other his life forever.


    However, Kang was na?ve. His mistake was to believe that his father still had good left in him.


    He knew that his father didn''t treat Liu like his daughter. He didn''t even acknowledge her existence, to begin with, and so he thought that it wouldn''t make any difference if for his father if he brought Liu with him.


    For some reason, Kang always felt that his father never intended to let him seed in his ce. And he didn''t want to be tied down in one ce too, so he thought that if he confronted him head-on, his father would have no choice but let him go.


    "You disappoint me." His father muttered. It was at that moment that Kang, and Liu who was watching, understood.


    "L-i-u¡­" The lower part of Kang''s body began to freeze as he turned and looked at Liu. "So..r.."


    "Brother!" Liu cried and rushed to his brother''s side.


    The man who just used his power to take his son''s dream away just looked at the scene with apathetic eyes.


    Kang''s spine waspletely frozen and then shattered. He never woke up again, and never will.


    "Liu. You are a failure but you are not like your brother, are you?" The man, the monster looked at Liu, and she couldn''t do anything but cower in fear.<sub> </sub>


    From that day onward, Liu swore to herself that she would be the one who take down this man. As such she continued to bear with everything her father put her through, waiting for the day while continuing to find ways to be stronger.


    However, at some point, she also realized that taking her father head-on wasn''t something as easy as it sounded.


    Years went by, but she wasn''t even close to her goal. Her father was so influential, not only on the surface but also in the shadow. She had to rethink her n again and again until she met a certain man.


    Liu never believed in fate or destiny, and so she always worked hard more than anyone else to satisfy her desire with her own hands.


    Despite how she acted, however, Adam left an impact on her. She couldn''t deny it. Also, she didn''t know how it happened, but she was now more powerful than she used to be.


    She knows that she was pathetic, and in the end, she was just afraid of her father. She knew that her father wouldn''t hesitate to inflict on her the same punishment as her brother if she defied him. However, unlike her brother, she continued to run away and hoped that a miracle would happen. She knew that her hard work would never be enough, but she couldn''t do anything but put up with the tough act.


    ''However, sometimes, miracles do happen, so Liu thought as she parted ways with Adam on the airfield. She didn''t look back because it was not his fight, and it was something that she needed to do alone.


    Her uncle Haozu tried to hide what happened to her friends, but she know her father and his inhuman character. Nheless, she couldn''t waver or everything would be in vain.


    And so, she made her preparation. However, there was only one way to end things.


    "So you have returned, Liu." Her father didn''t look pleased, in fact, he didn''t show any emotion at all even after knowing what Liu had gone through.


    Of course, that was not something that surprised Liu at this point as she looked her father in the eyes.


    "That look in your eyes. Do you have something to say?" His father continued, sitting on top of his throne-like chair.


    The Fenrirus residence was constituted with hunters of Chinese-looking castles, and Liu and his father were now inside one of those. It was a ce in which Zen, her father, met with representatives and envoys from other families. As such, the hall was spacious and exhibited the power of the Fernrirus n.


    "I challenge you in a death battle. If I win, I will take your ce," Liu said without turning around the bush.


    Her father was a little surprised, but soon, even that slight look of surprise vanished. "Why would I do that?"


    "I don''t give you the choice. However, you can always decide to let yourself be killed!"


    Crystal wings appeared on Liu''s back, propelling her forward, and then she was surrounded by white lotus-like petals.


    This was her new power, given to her by the fragment. They appeared to be simple petals but they were the product of a bizarre phenomenon. Everything these petals touch would freeze in time.


    "Foolish kid." When he saw Liu rushing at him, he didn''t even move, as if he had already foreseen her move.


    "Guah!" Before she could even reach her father, Liu coughed out arge amount of blood.


    After that, she went sent crashing into a gigantic pir. Boom!


    Liu fell helplessly to the ground, and all she could do was re at her father onest time.


    At that time, she saw two people beside her father. One of them wore ab coat, and he was holding something that looked like a heart in his hand right hand. The other one was a knight wearing shiny silver armor.


    Onest time, Liu thought about her brother''s face. ''Sorry, brother, I couldn''t do it.''


    Then¡­ The face of a particr person appeared inside her mind as she was about to lose consciousness. ''I wish I could see you again, Adam¡­''

 Chapter 175 The Consequences Of Adams Choice

    Adam made a choice. Supposing that he rushed after Liu, or even if he just told her about the true nature of the tree fragments, things might have taken a different conclusion.


    However, by not doing anything, Adam had managed to not fall into the Emperor''s trap. There was no actual proof that he was being monitored but Adam, nevertheless, had chosen to make a sacrifice.


    At least by doing so, he could create a future beyond the unavoidable future right ahead of him. Nheless, it can with heavy consequences.


    It made one wonder if he didn''t just do it out of fear when he was being pressured by the feeling of helplessness and despair. Maybe he just wanted a way out, a means to run away from his thoughts.


    Maybe Adam had never thought that he would be burned with such a responsibility in exchange for obtaining his godly powers. He was still a human after all. There was no guarantee that his choice was the right one.


    However, that was the reason why Adam had to make sure that no matter what happened, he would carry this n to the end. He would be a God.


    No one forced him to do anything. He could as well have stayed with his parents and due with them. At least his family would be close to him this time.


    He could have gone with Liu and supported her. Maybe they would have developed feelings for each other before the very end.


    He could have also decided to look for nca''s sister, going on an adventure.


    Nheless, Adam thought about the things that he could never aplish in his previous life. Then he asked himself, was he be happy and fulfilled now that he had everything he wanted? Wealth, power, a handsome face¡­


    If so, why was still scared of dying? Adam knew everything wouldn''tst forever even in this new world.


    However, this time, there was a possibility, an ever so little possibility that he could make thingsst forever.


    How arrogant someone could be? However, the fear of losing everything again forced Adam to think.


    ''If everything would be gone anyway, then let''s think of something more worthwhile! This is a second chance, after all, it''s now or never!''


    Nheless, theorizing about something and experiencing it were two different things.


    Even if he reached the perfect answer in theory, even if the chances of seeding were not small... his emotions were something he couldn''t ignore.


    *****


    "Kuh!" Adam groaned. The guardians were more tenacious and troublesome than he thought. They didn''t appear to have the attention to let him run away.


    Adam didn''t have a choice but to immediately put his theory about nothingness to the test as soon as he synchronized his memories.


    There were two reasons for this. First, he was now sure that someone was observing him, and even capable of reading his mind. Second, if this person could read Adam''s mind, they would never let Adam achieve his goal because even though found out about the nothingness, it was not like anyone had his power. Consequently, whoever was watching, would certainly not let him create a weapon that could kill them all.


    Adam was even worried about the current situation. He had expected the appearance of a few powerful foes like the one who appeared during the Holy Academy''s test but not even one of suching to stop him.


    Nevertheless, the guardians were also really annoying, and even though Adam needed to go where Liu was, they got in his way.


    "¡­Why are you doing this?" Adam asked. Kaya used her power to restrain him as if invisible hands were stopping him from moving.


    "An? What is bbering about?" Kaya, who somehow looked angry, replied.


    "¡­ Do you even know what you are doing?" Adam continued. If possible, he wanted to conserve his energy. Trying to use the Destruction authority has already put us in a very bad position. He was not expecting anything, but he was also not losing anything by trying. "You should know that you are being controlled, right? Something bad is about to happen¡ª"


    "Shut up!" Kaya yelled and tightened the grip around Adam''s neck. "How did that muscle head even lose to a brat like this."


    Seeing that Adam wasn''t moving, the guardians thought that Kaya managed to restrain him.


    "Wait, Kaya. We should keep him alive," Marina suggested. "We need to try exacting information from him and use this chance to find out about what he was plotting. I don''t believe that he was working alone."


    "Huh? What are you talking about? This little shit just killed Derige I remind you," Kaya retorted.


    "Are you saying that you are scared that he wouldn''t be able to restrain him and he would kill us all, Kaya?" Marina asked challengingly.


    "Wha¡ª"<sub> </sub>


    "We are the Guardians. Deeige''s death was unfortunate but we should think about the interest of the empire first," Marina added, and she talked sternly. Even the other Guardians stayed quiet after hearing her taking this kind of tone.


    Derige was the strongest, but that was only because Marina''s power wasn''t as destructive as the guardian''s. Nheless, she was acting as representative of all of them for a reason.


    "Tch¡­ Whatever," Kaya seemed to have epted Marina''s words and given up trying to kill Adam. Well, it was unlikely that she could do so even if she tried, but this worked in Adam''s favor. If he yed his card right, he might even be able to turn things around, or so he thought.


    Marina approached Adam, however, she didn''t show any expression on her face. She just scrutinized Adam''s face, and so did the other guardians.


    However, she could see Farah who was with Nuiia sending death res at him.


    "Take him to the special prison," Marina said, "I will deal with him personally."


    "Are okay with all of this? Innocent people are dying!" Adam talked suddenly. He was acting, of course, but he wasn''t lying either.


    "Are you trying to persuade me that you are innocent? You seem to be more stupid than I thought," Marina replied, ring at Adam. It seemed like she also held grudge against Adam for killing Derige.


    "Treason is treason. Unless eradicated until thest one, bad herbs will grow again, won''t they?" Marina added.


    Seeing this, Adam knew that it would be impossible to convince the guardians. Most of them were already involved with the dark side of the Empire after all. As for Marina, she was blinded by her sense of justice and responsibility.


    Adam didn''t know what was happening, but he knew that the Emperor, or at least someone powerful enough to force the Emperor to give out such an order had devised a trap for him.


    The reason was certainly to corner him and obtain the tree fragments. As such, he had also deducted that they woulde after Liu.


    To think that they would involve the whole Raizel family, Adam knew that he was up against a formidable foe. Even if godlike beings didn''t appear, that didn''t make the situation any better.


    "I don''t have the choice," Adam muttered and Marina turned and looked at him.


    "Kuh!" However, something that Adam didn''t expect happened. Or more precisely, some of his memories were not coherent so he forgot. He was taken by surprise.


    A dagger pierced his heart before he could even activate his power. Adam forgot that Marina''s ability was rted to time maniption.


    When she activated her ability, she could create a space in which thew of space and time didn''t apply to her. In other words, she could make it that only she moved inside of this space where time was elerated.


    "Do you think we are stupid? Your life is not precious enough that I will risk losing someone else by keeping you alive," Marina said.


    Blood ran down Adam''s chest and he felt intense pain. However, he was not done yet.


    "Kuh! I don''t know if you are a good person deep inside, or if you are pretending¡­but what''s sure is that you chose the wrong side!"


    "What¡ª Guh!"


    Adam strangled Mariana and lifted her in the air. Then, ck lightning surrounded his body and was directed to Marina who was directly in contact with him.


    "Aaaaaaaa!" Marina screamed in pain.


    However, they made a mistake by deciding to reduce the distance between Adam and them.


    Apart from the nothingness, Adam also managed to analyze every elemental gift and was now able to use every elemental-based power. He didn''t spend fifty years wandering the silver desert for nothing. The concept was simple. He just needed to feel the primordial particle of each element in his surroundings and used his astral body to converge them into something he could control. It was a new way to use dark matter.


    "Kuugh! What is this?" Kaya groaned, trying to use her power to break free from the effect of Adam''s power.


    Adam also realized that all of the guardians had unleashed their power so he wouldn''t be able to restrain them.


    "Let''s finish this quickly." As he said these words, Adam turned toward the direction he wanted to go.


    He prepared himself for the worst. This was the result of his choice¡­

 Chapter 176 Another Rebirth

    "Don''t mess with me!" Kaya cried as she dashed forward abruptly toward Adam.


    From the look of it, Adam couldn''t nullify Nuiia''s power because it was something that was somehow moreplex than it looked. However, for some reason, Nuiia had stayed far from Adam along with Farah.


    "I will kill you!" Kaya immediatelyunched another, while the other guardians, Cristoph and Gerrad, distanced themselves from Adam immediately.


    Seeing this, Adam felt that the mastermind, the one who was pulling the strings from the shadow wasn''t among the guardians.


    Unlike what how she acted, Kaya was better than the other guardians. It might be because she was just feeling guilty, Adam wasn''t sure, but from the information he managed to gather, she anonymously continued to support various orphanages for disabled children all around the Empire.


    On the other hand, the one who appeared the most harmless, Nuiia, was somehow connected to the dark side of the Empire and worked secretly with Gerrard. She was in reality a woman with particr fetishes and made a contract with Gerrard in order to provide her young boys, for her to perform indecent and vicious acts that couldn''t even be mentioned on them.


    From an outsider''s point of view, it would be easy to condemn Nuiia''s action and praise Kaya, but for Adam, all of that didn''t matter. The fact that they were working for the enemy didn''t change.


    Unlike what Kaya expected, Adam had also darted forward. Swoosh!


    "Kuh!" Kaya didn''t know anything about Adam, and she so she could never defeat him. After all, Adam was almost invincible in close-range fights.


    Adam''s fist was buried deep inside Kaya''s stomach, causing her to vomit blood.


    Even though Adam was not at the peak of his condition, he was also not the person that stood in that coliseum a while ago.


    The dagger that was nted in his chest was somehow pushed backward, then Adam''s wound healed by itself.


    He was a man who aimed at a higher goal, it was only natural that he would reduce the possibility of failure. After all, his body was certainly his biggest weakness. His flesh was fragile and could fail to withstand his power.


    "Guh!" Kaya had almost passed out. She trained her body, and she was tougher than most gift users, but she looked like she wasn''t used to enduring such kind of physical attack with her petite body.


    "Kaya! Tch..." Cristoph saw that Kaya wasn''t a match for Adam. The problem was that there was something about Adam that made it impossible for Cristoph to read him. He couldn''t even guess what kind of gift Adam possessed, and so his instinct told him to not move despite what was happening. ''How is he still alive? Is he a monster?'' he thought as he saw Adam not looking even fazed by his condition.


    Cristoph looked at Gerrad and thenmunicated with only their eyes. However, it looked like they thought about the same thing. They needed to retreat.


    In the first ce, an aerial battle put them at disadvantage, and without Nuiia, it would be hard to win against Adam. From the look of it, Adam tried to fight them in a close-ranged battle which meant that he was confident about winning. If he used his ability to restrain them for a second, they would be vulnerable to his attack.


    "Aaaaaaa!" Kaya continued to let out a painful cry as Adam used his power to control the particle of metals inside of her body. As such, she stiffened and begin to lift unnaturally in the air.


    The problem was, however, that Adam didn''t appear to proceed in attacking them. He instead continued to wait for them to attack as if he knew what they were thinking. This implied, that Adam was not also afraid of long ranged attacks, or so Cristoph thought.


    Nheless, the other guardians didn''t even think about trying to save Kaya or anything of the sort. Marina and Derige were out of the fight so things were not looking good, the best choice was to retreat for the time being.


    "You three are really pieces of garbage," Adam muttered. "You should have run for your life while you still have the chance."


    For some reason, their pride prevented them from actually running away. It was not that they didn''t want to leave Kaya behind, but because they still believed that they could somehow neat Adam if they used their power.


    Adam didn''t kill Marina and Kaya out of pity, and he could regret that in the future, but it was his choice. He gave them a second chance. However, he wasn''t so tolerant of the other three.


    While looking at the three remaining guardians, as well as Farah, something odd happened to Adam''s left arm. A ck and ominous-looking arm grow from what was left after it was cut.<sub> </sub>


    It was notpletely an exact copy of his arm, but it was also close to the real thing despite its color.


    "Die!" Adam muttered as he reached this ck arm at the three guardians.


    A ck circle appeared in from of Nuiia, and behind Cristoph and Gerrard. It was fairly bigger than what Adam used against Derige.


    When she realized what happening, Nuiia tried to run but it was toote. The gravitational force that pulled everything at the center of the ck circle was too strong.


    Gerrard used his ability, and so did Cristoph, but because of their arrogance, they couldn''t even use their ability during the fight.


    Their body twisted like pasta and they continued to cry in pain. They must have thought about the cries of the people they tortured at that moment but Adam didn''t believe that they would change that easily even if they were given a second chance.


    After that, now he was left with three women. Farah who he saved used his cape to pull her away. Then, there were Kaya and Marina who passed out due to the pain. Adam used his ability to create a t circle made by manipting regr iron particles with the Darkmatter to prevent them from falling straight to the ground. Then he also used the same thing for Farah and his cape returned to his back.


    Sarah was in a state of confusion. She was extremely scared, sad, and frustrated, almost as if her spirit was about to break. It was certainly because of Adam, but he didn''t feel any responsibility for what happened.


    Adam brought the women safely to the ground and left them there. He didn''t say anything and just left.


    *****


    As he made his way towards the territory of the Fenrirus n, flying at an insane speed, he had also begun to reorganize his thoughts because he would certainly not have the time to do that anymore.


    First about the ck circle, or more precisely the authority of Destruction. Activating the full power of this authority wasn''t easy, and even so, Adam could only control an insignificant fraction of it.


    It was true that the wall that prevented Adam''s power to go out of control was necessary. However, it was not like he couldn''t ess this vast amount of power. He just needed to understand his actual limit.


    The question was, was it really impossible for Adam to use his power? At first, he concluded that the was at the boundary of the silver desert was what prevented the amount of power contained beyond and within this realm from overflowing out.


    Then, Adam continued to think, about why was able to activate the power of the Creation authority during his fight against Rudeus. Was it really because he didn''t feel any fear at that moment?


    No, even so, something was missing. How could Adam control the two primordial authorities in the first ce? It was true that they were somehow ced, and existed somewhere inside of his body, but would such authority activate just because Adam wanted to?


    Adam had somehow resolved the puzzle behind the authority of Creation & Destruction. By using the dark matter, not to convert atoms into new atoms that he could control, he used it to disintegrate the atoms themselves after they were converted, returning them to their primordial form which was nothingness. The appearance of a ck hole was just something that urred during the process, which Adam used as a way of attacking.


    Still, it was very dangerous, because he couldn''t yet determine the effect of bringing nothingness into this dimension, so he couldn''t use this authority often. The two authorities were dependent on each other for a reason.


    This brought Adam to think that the activation of his power didn''t have anything to do with what was beyond the silver wall. In other words, what''s beyond it was just a vast amount of energy capable of creating something for the Big Bang and not the Authority themselves.


    In that case what exactly was the nature of these authorities? And how were they activated? Adam couldn''t tell yet, but for the time being, he had to think about how he would solve the situation at hand.


    He needed to retrieve at least two tree fragments, and from the look of it, the one who was pulling the strings from the shadow was preparing something big using these fragments. Adam didn''t know if it has something to do with the ''Viiness'' thing, but he could avoid confrontation with this mastermind either way.


    Anyway, the answer was there somewhere. The reason why he was able to create his astral body. Was that a new power, or was he already using the authority of creation all of this time, like the authority of Destruction but at a weaker level?

 Chapter 177 Another Rebirth (Part 2)

    Many people tend to believe that life is unfair. Because, some were born with the inability to walk or to see. Some were just born with a frail body. And some were born with inferior intellect. These people believed and would certainly continue to believe that life was unfair. Even if they have a positive mindset and decide to not use their weakness as an excuse to not enjoy their life, the fact that they were not given the chance to experience a normal life was still undeniable.


    Then, there was what human called society. There were also those who believed that their life was unfair because they lived within this society. For instance, those who were at the bottom of the hierarchy would fell so. These people felt exploited by those who stood at the top, and despite their struggle it was extremely rare that luck would work in their favor, no matter how hard they tried. This was proven by the history.


    Also, there were also those who were born in ce where the resources vital to maintain what could be considered a basic human lifestyle weren''t enough. These people would certainly course their life. Why wasn''t I born in a wealthier country? Why was I even born? The fact that they couldn''t decide about where they would be born appeared to be a form of unfairness.


    I any case, as long as the inequality existed, then unfairness would also exist. However, if viewed from a different perspective, if people didn''t able the ability to think and just act based on their instinct, inequality would be irrelevant. In that case, the fact that the strong prey on the weak would be just a natural urrence.


    *****


    Life was unfair to a certain girl. She was born and raised in an extremely unforgiving environment. To the point that she often needed to satisfy her anger by mud mixed with tamarind.


    As long as she could remember, she never ate something that she could call delicious. She didn''t even know that the word delicious existed. After all, her vocabry was very limited, due to the fact that she never received any whatsoever education, and that her brain hadn''t not developed.


    People died on daily basis but for those who survived, that was just, for the better or for the worse, one less person to feed.


    The little girl couldn''t even imagine that there were people who lived in luxury, enjoying life at its fullest. She didn''t know, and so she never thought that life was unfair. From the moment she was born, she never thought that there were something strange about her suffering.


    That was so, until certain people came to her hometown. These people were different. Despite the other difference, like their skin color, the size of their body, what struck the little girl when she looked at these people was their eyes.


    The look on their eyes when they observed her and her peers. It was a feeling that she couldn''t put into words but it made her feel a lot of things at the same time.


    No matter how she looked at it, these people were not like her. And then she realized that life was not only suffering.


    Still, the suffering didn''t stop... Until the moment she die, her suffering didn''t stop.


    Was the value of her life lower that those people''s? She didn''t know, and she didn''t even think about it. In the end, only the people who were not experiencing the suffering themselves could make such an observation.


    ****


    A second chance. Not many people get a second chance in their lifetime. For instance, life may give someone a second chance using luck. They may be lucky and find and break bypass the limits that life had set for them.


    However, second was not also given to anyone. As such, it could be also considered unfair that certain people have such a luck when millions of others were suffering from unfairness like them.


    Nheless, life have given the girl a second chance. She had reincarnated.


    The little girl never thought things like reincarnation, another world or second chance. Her imagination was so limited that she couldn''t even think about how good foods looked like.


    As such, as soon as she regained her consciousness, she began to learn and assimte a vast amount of knowledge even though she was still inside of tube.


    The people who observed her from time to time were extremely different from any human she met in her life. However, one of them had particrly picked her interest.


    This man looked at her with indifferent eyes. But it could be also said that he was seeing her as how he saw everyone else in the room.


    Once she took the first step outside the tube, the man was there in front of her.


    "Come with me, Neige." the man said extending her hand towards her. At that time, she didn''t anything and took the man''s hand.


    *****<sub> </sub>


    A few yerster, after the little girl was reborn and was given the name Neige, she was given a mission.


    It was made clear to her that she should only live for the purpose of aplishing this ultimate duty. She had to save the world, or so her father said.


    At first, Neige continued to absorb as much information as she could. She was also given the most advanced for of education, and for someone who had never experienced such a thing, she enjoyed acquiring new knowledge.


    Apart from learning about the existence of thew of physics, the importance of numbers and calction, she had also learned about the existence of the gift.


    This was something that made her feel excitation for the first time. Neige felt that the gift was something beautiful and very interesting. As such, she put more effort into developing her ability to manipte the gift.


    Neige had never thought that she was different from other people, or that she was now blessed. She wasn''t even aware that there was a big difference between her previous world and the world were she was reincarnated into.


    For someone who had never seen everything that her previous world had to offer, the thought that there many things things that were different didn''t even ur to her. However, that also meant that she didn''t know about the is simrities.


    Neige had never learned about the notion of good or bad. She was someone who acted based on her survival instinct. But as she continued to grow, that changed.


    When she heard about the that was paved for her by her father, she began to wonder. Why did she have to cast away her life for the world? What exactly was the world?


    It didn''t make sense to her. She was raised to be the next Holy Mother, and it was said that this was the greatest honor.


    Neige didn''t understand, no she had already learned about honor, and the duties of the royal family. However, it was just something that she couldn''t yet ept.


    She spent 20 years in suffering, and so she thought that this was her reward. After all, she was taught that by working hard, she should was would be rewarded. Because of that, she continued to works hard.


    So why? The sense of honor, justice, or responsibility that people thought as something noble didn''t quite make sense to her.


    At least in her suffering, she could was free to do everything she wanted. Even though this fact didn''t mean anything in her previous world, it was different now that she had a more imaginative mind.


    She felt like she was restrained. Regardless, everyone else appeared to be living like their life like it was something normal.


    Then, she discovered a new aspect of the world, about the moreplex nature of human nature. She was introduced to society.


    Even though she was living in a more or less form of society in her previous life, it waspletely different. It was extremely nauseating. People were looking at her as if she was some kind of freak show.


    It reminded her of the people who came to her hometown, but alsopletely different. Then, she was told that she to put some effort for the sake of these people. Why?


    In theory, she understood what she had to and why she had to do it. Theplexity of the society wasn''t the problem. It was her as an individual.


    After that, she was also introduced to the notion of happiness and freedom. The more she learned, the more she felt she was about to lose sight of herself.


    When she looked at her father, the man who was know as the Emperor, he always appeared as if he knew what she was thinking. She also learned about the feeling of fear.


    For the first time, she had a life that she didn''t want to lose, and she was told that she needed to do what was expected from her if she wanted to continue to live like that.


    Neige didn''t want that kind of life.

 Chapter 178 Hopeless Situation

    Even though the Emperor had issued an order, it was hard to hunt down everyone who had a connection with the Raizel family in a single day, considering how vast the Empire''s main was.


    All in all, it was just for show. Those who were present within the big cities that were close to the coliseum were the ones who were hunted first. And from there, all of the airfields throughout the whole were closed down, preventing anyone from fleeing.


    Nheless, it wasn''t like the Imperial soldiers could immediately pinpoint the location of the people that tried to hunt. As such, the higher-ups created some kind of wall made of soldiers around each city to prevent anyone from leaving and entering the city. After that, they would proceed in searching every corner of each city thoroughly before moving to the other ce outside the city.


    Moreover, the itself was protected by a force field, strong enough to prevent most spaceships from leaving the imperial territory. The fate of the representative of the families, as well as the students, who were affiliated with the Raizel family, were already sealed.


    Faced with this unprecedented situation, these people who didn''t know anything and were extremely confused about what was happening tried to defend themselves, denying the im that they were plotting a revolt. Of course, there was no room for discussion. All awaited them was death.


    The massacre continued, and these people began to curse Adam under their breath.


    *****


    "I knew it! I knew it! Didn''t I tell you? That guy had already appeared suspicious from the moment I saw him!" Alexander shouted in anger. He was one of the students who were affiliated with the Raizel family and participated in the Holy Academy''s test.


    "Calm down, Alexander," said Barned, knowing fully that Alexander''s reaction was justified. "For now, we need to find a way to get out of this situation together."


    "A way out? We are doomed! Don''t you see these soldiers! They don''t even hesitate to kill children. This is insane!" Alexander added.


    As Alexander said, the soldiers were merciless and treated the students who were affiliated with the Raizel family taking part in the test as if they were dangerous criminals.


    Barned and his group managed to hide somewhere within the city for the time being, but they couldn''t stay there forever.


    "I will be the one who will force you to shut up, if you don''t shut up, Alexander!" Felicia said sternly, her face not showing any hint of her usual graciousness.


    Even Alexander was taken aback by Felicia''s sudden change of character. He was still aggravated by the situation by he was also notpletely stupid.


    His eyes were now, however, fixated on a certain individual that tagged along with them. The reason why he was upset in the first ce. Amelia.


    All of them remembered clearly the moment Adam arrived with Amelia. As such, it was not hard for them to suspect Amelia to be involved in Adam''s n.


    "So, what are we going to do about her?" asked Yoru. "She keeps denying every usation and ims to be innocent."


    As a matter of a fact, Amelia appeared to be shaken, emotionally unstable even. Her body was shaken unnaturally as if she was extremely scared.


    "¡­" Even Barned didn''t know what to do with her. "Amelia, we are sorry, but we can''t trust you," he said. "As such, I will not take this decision alone."


    If they decided to keep Amelia with them, they needed to be wary of the possibility that she might stab them in the back. Nheless, it didn''t also mean that if they left her to die alone, then something would change.


    "Raise your hand if you want to leave Amelia behind," Barned suggested.


    Barned and his group''s chances of survival weren''t high, to begin with, and if added Amelia to the equation, there was no telling what would happen. At least, Barned would be able to lead the other four, as he knew about their strengths and weaknesses. As such, adding an unknown number variable to the equation would just lower, their already low, chance of survival.


    However, despite what they said, none of them raised their hand. Even Alexander didn''t raise his hand.


    "Well, I am surprised. Why didn''t raise your hand even though you wereining?" Yoru remarked, addressing her question to Alexander.


    "Tch¡­ Leave me alone," Alexander muttered under his breath.


    It seemed like they had the same impression of Amelia. From the look of it, their intuition told them that Amelia wasn''t acting.


    "It seems like we need to develop a n from here," Barned said. "How''s thing outside, Benjamin?"


    Barned and his friend managed to hide inside an unused room at the top of a certain building. It belonged to someone close to Felicia''s family, and it was currently being renovated.


    However, this also meant that they could only hide momentarily because anyone would certainly search inside this building sooner orter. It was the perfect spot for hiding after all.


    "Nothing suspicious, for now," Benjamin reported.


    For the time being, the soldiers seemed to have prioritized the encirclement of the city and reduced the escape route little by little.<sub> </sub>


    As such, it was just a matter of time before they finish their search. The soldier used a device to scan people''s faces, then identify the person. As such, those who belonged to families rted to the Raizel family were now listed as red. Once scanned by this device, no matter what the people who were confirmed to be rted to these families said to defend themselves, they would be killed on the spot. The same happened to the people whose identity wasn''t registered in the Empire''s database.


    "I see¡­ From there we need to¡­" Barned was at a loss for words. No matter from what angle he tried to tackle the problem, there was no issue.


    Even if they find a spaceship, they would be taken down before they could even take off. Moreover, the fact that they didn''t even have the chance to prove their innocence made things more difficult.


    Seeing Barned''s reaction, the other member of the group began to feel the direness of the situation.


    All of that was because of Adam.


    "You really don''t know anything?!" Alexander shouted, knowing the futility of his act. He couldn''t keep his emotions bottled inside and so he directed or toward Amelia.


    In response to Alexander''s shouting, Amelia flinched and began to cover her ears, and shook her head repeatedly while sobbing.


    ? "Tch! You are so annoying! All of this is so annoying! Why do I have to end like this!" Alexander begin to feel impatient and irritated, and he was not the same. Everyone else felt the same.


    "Come here! Hehehe!"


    "No, leave my sister alone!"


    Barned gestured for everyone to not move, and as he did, everyone else held their breath. Felicia immediately held Amelia and restrained her while preventing her from talking or making any noise by covering her mouth.


    "You will die anyway so why don''t we y a little!"


    Five soldiers entered the building after chasing after two students. They looked so carefree as they discussed what was happening.


    "It''s rare for us to have this kind of chance. I didn''t expect something like this to happen."


    "Yeah. Well, at least we have the opportunity to do things like this. It''s exciting."


    From the look of it, these soldiers who had never experienced real wars felt that it was so peaceful. As such, they felt excited about the sudden turn of events. They were the same as those who watched the execution of some nobles on the screen. The soldiers could go all out and go on killing sprees.


    "Stop!"


    The two girls, Rose and Azalea, tried to defend themselves against the soldiers but their struggle made these predators more excited.


    One of the soldiers had begun to take off his pants and strode in direction of Azalea and Rose dauntingly.


    "Hahaha! Look at him! He is really into this."


    "Well, you don''t get to taste young girls every day."


    His friends looked at the half-naked soldiers with grins on their faces, as if they were the fun of their lives.


    "Hey, close the door, man."


    "But this ce looks quite old. It''s rare to find a mansion like this these days."


    "Well, it looks like we can use this to have fun during thest few days.


    The soldiersmented about how therge mansion had an old design, simr to a western mansion on earth.


    They also began to browse through the list of the students who were still hiding somewhere, mostly the girls.


    It seemed like they nned to use this ce to **** these girls without anyone noticing before disposing of them.


    Barned who hide somewhere behind a wall upstairs looked down at the soldiers with a face that expressed his anger.

 Chapter 179 Hopeless Situation (Part 2)

    Why do humans choose tomit wrongdoings and sins?


    No one is born evil, however, evil was always part of human nature. If humans were purely made of good nature, things might have been different, or so Barned resumed.


    Barned was born into a rtively wealthy family. His father was a virtuous man, and his mother was kind. In other words, it could be said that he was lucky to be born in an environment where he could grow up into a proper individual. He was aware of this, and so he always acted for the sake of not bringing disappointment his family.


    Still, it was not rare for children like him around every corner of the universe. It didn''t take him long to find people who shared the same point of view as him. Barned believed that he was standing above those who were not lucky as him. However, that didn''t mean that he was looking down at them. On the contrary, he felt that he had the responsibility to lead these people as his father did.


    Then again, that also was just a typical way of thinking of nobility. Barned didn''t find anything wrong with this. He believed that society, or at least what he perceived as a society, could function because each gear worked in unison. This too was something that his father taught him and he understood.


    Nheless, Barned had room enough to realize that not every noble thought like him. Some choose to do bad things voluntarily.


    Barned didn''t understand why these people found enjoyment in their actions. However, he also realized how powerless he truly was.


    In the end, his way of thinking was alone, and even though he imposed this way of thinking on other people, they wouldn''t understand, like how he couldn''t understand them.


    As such Barned chose to limit his contact with other people. He decided to work hard for what he believed in, and obtain the strength to protect what was important. That was all.


    Alexander, Felicia, Benjamin, and Yoru shared the same point of view as him. Most of them were also born into noble families who were not corrupted. This was most likely because they lived on faraways, far from the influence of corrupted nobles. At least, that should have been the case.


    All it took was a few words. Barned couldn''t believe his ears when he heard the Emperor''s order. ''Why did it have to end up like this?'' he thought.


    He couldn''t describe what he felt as he looked at the face of the young man that was said to be the cause of all of his problems. Adam Von Kepalta.


    Why couldn''t he just mind his business? Why did he have to drag everyone into this? If he wanted to revolt, that was his problem¡­ Why? Why?


    Unfortunately, there was nothing to do, and he couldn''t help but continue to be frustrated. What was even the point of his life?


    *****


    "No! Stay away!" Azalea used her power to throw a nearby statute that was used for decoration at the half-naked soldier.


    "I like that face! It''s more exciting like this!" However, most of the soldiers were all level 7 gift holders or stronger. Azalea''s struggle was in vain.


    Rose was already near her breaking point. Her face showed an expression of despair mixed with resignation. She appeared to have tried to strengthen her mind for what was about to happen.


    "Aren''t you guys going to join? They could take us all," the half-naked said with an amused tone.


    "Hey, calm down. Don''t kill them too fast. We don''t know when we get a chance like this again."


    The soldiers appeared like they were trying hard to convince themselves that what they were doing was probably not as bad as it appeared. They were trying to sound like this was just some sort of game. They were probably feeling guilty deep down, but they couldn''t stop. These humans had chosen to perpetuate an evil deed.


    The question was, would Barned and his friend try to stop them?


    Barned erased his presence and begin to observe the soldiers'' behavior. The soldiers appeared to be distracted so they would have time to escape, so they abandoned the two helpless girls.


    However, something prevented Barned from leaving. He was a good person. As such, he also thought that even if they escaped from there, it wouldn''t necessarily mean that their situation would improve. In other words, he tried to convince himself that it wouldn''t change anything much if they helped the girl or not.


    However, he was also worried about his friends. The soldiers were certainly distracted for the time being, but they were by no means weak. Barned and his friends didn''t stand a chance.


    If they tried to intervene, they were like throwing themselves to the sharks. Barned didn''t what to do. He was far too weak to have multiple options avable to him. Still, he made up his mind.


    He made his way back to the room where his other friends were.


    "The soldiers would certainly notice us if we all escape at the same time," he whispered. "I will hold them, you need to get out of her and find Adam."<sub> </sub>


    "What?!" Alexander was surprised by Barned''s words.


    As for why Barned reached this conclusion, it was simple. He had observed Adam. It was true that Adam was arrogant, but what he said made Barned wonder. Adam stood proudly as someone who would not bring shame to his people as their Lords.


    It might have been a bluff, but Barned''s intuition told him, at that moment that Adam was telling the truth. In addition to this, Adam was strong. If there was someone who could save them from this situation, then it would be him. Their chance of survival was almost close to zero after all.


    Another fact that made Barned think about this was what Adam did when he saw Azalea and Rose. He was still acting arrogantly, but at least the look in his eyes when he looked at the two girls could be described as kind. Evil people couldn''t replicate such expressions most of the time.


    Again, this was just spection but it was also theirst hope. The chance that Adam might have been framed, and used to be the culprit was high, or Barned told himself. In the end, it was just a deduction based on his simple intuition.


    "This is the only way we can survive," said Barned with determination. "You have to trust me!"


    "But what about you?" Felicia asked with a worried look on her face.


    "I will catch upter. I won''t fight them, I will just distract their attention," Barmed exined. That was, of course, a lie. He knew what was going to happen to him, but he couldn''t try.


    "Barned, you¡­" Felicia was about to say something but Barned looked at her with affectionate eyes. Barnes knew that Felicia was more formidable than she appeared to be.


    Barned also realized that maybe he was more of a coward than he thought. His feelings for Felicia would be buried forever inside his heart.


    "We have a way to contact him," Barned said, looking at Amelia. "She should know how to contact him."


    Nheless, it was just wishful thinking on his part. He just needed to make sure that he at least survive a little longer. He realized that he was probably being selfish.


    "A¡ª"


    "No, Alexander. Don''t say anything," Barned interrupted before Alexander could say anything. "I leave everything to you, Felicia, I need to go. No matter what happens, no matter what happens¡­ Don''t turn back!"


    After that Barned turned his back to his friend and begin to thought about he would deal with the soldiers.


    The key was the effect of surprise. After that, he needed to use his gift to grab the two girls and run toward the door at full speed.


    He was a level 4 gift holder, and his elemental gift was fire. As such, he nned to create a smokescreen and use it as a diversion.


    Barned never looked back, because he knew that he would hesitate. He realized that he couldn''t even give proper instructions. However, he knew that he could count on Felicia.


    "Let''s do this!"


    After stealing his resolve, Banredunched fireballs rapidly all around the round to create an explosion and make a smokescreen.


    Boom! Boom!


    "What?!" The soldiers were taken by surprise and panicked.


    Barned used this opportunity to jump down rapidly in front of Azalea and Rose.


    However, he was underestimating the soldiers.


    "Hey!" One of the soldiers sensed Barned''s presence and pinpointed his location. Then, he immediately retaliated by using his gift to freeze the ground and the area around Barned and the two sisters.


    Compared to level 4 gift holders, the magnitude of the power of level 7 gift holders was on another level.


    Barned lower body waspletely frozen before he could even react. Even though he had the advantage due to the effect of surprise, the fact that he didn''t know anything about the soldiers'' gifts made his failure a certainty.

 Chapter 180 Hopeless Situation (Part 3)

    The difference between a level 4 and level 7 gift holder was huge. Barned knew this, but he still hoped that he could somehow manage to slip past them. He know that it was beyond reckless but he hoped that he would be lucky.


    "Kuh!" Barned didn''t even have the time to react. One the soldier closed the distance between Barned and him in just a second, leaving Barned no time to block his attack.


    Crash! Barned felt the power of the kick on his stomach before crashing on the wall. His body was tougher than a average human but he took a lot of damage.


    "Another brat?!" The half naked soldier finally looked at Barned and he was surprised. "I see¡­ So one of them must be his girlfriend," he added as he approached Azalea and Rose with a twisted look on his face.


    After seeing what was happening, the other soldiers immediately came to the conclusion that Barned was a weakling, and so they immediately rxed. They didn''t let their guard down, but they also didn''t think that Barned would be able to do anything much.


    Still, the one who appeared to be the leader ordered two of his men to go inspect the room. Seeing this, Barned hoped that his friend had already left.


    "Don''t fuck with me!" The two soldiers immediately stepped back and took a battle stance.


    The one who shouted was none other than Alexander. Barnes begin to feel various emotion as he looked at the scene.


    Among all of them, Barned was the weakest, he knew that. His gift was just an elemental type. As such, he worked hard, in hope that he would someday be as powerful as Derige.


    However, Alexander, Felicia, Yoru, and Benjamin all had particr gifts. "Why?" he muttered, but he had also a light smile on his face.


    "Don''t go decide everything by yourself, Barned!" Alexander said before appearing next to Barned. His ability was teleportation. Even though he couldn''t teleport too far from his starting point, it was a very powerful ability. Nheless, he was still a level 4 gift holder, so he could be more powerful in the future.


    After that, Felicia''s hair began to grow out and became thicker, gaining more mass. She wrapped her hair around Azalea and Rose, then brought them behind hair, as she rose up in the air while her hair turned some kind of spiders like.


    "Wait, you¡ªkuh!" The soldier was suddenly propelled backward even though he couldn''t see anything. He was pretty confused.


    "Disgusting," muttered Yoru who was not visible. Only Barned and Alexander heard her.


    The other soldiers tried to rush ahead and attack the group of students who appeared suddenly before them, but the strongest among the group came forward. Unlike his appearance, and his attitude, Benjamin was the strongest when it came to the sheer destructive power of his ability.


    "Aaaaa!" He darted forward, meeting the soldiers head on. His body turned into a ma that attracted particle simr to what was found inside of gravitum. Then, when he didn''t activate his ability, these particle would be released outside of his body as a form of energy.


    Boom! Not expecting to see that sort of ability, the soldiers were taken by surprise.


    "Why? Why didn''t you leave?" said Barned. The reason why he asked them to leave was simply because he should be the only one who bear the consequences of his choice. He decided to help Azalea and Rose, and he knew exactly what that implied.


    "You are not the only one who have the choice," replied Alexander, looking like he knew what Barned was thinking. "You are really stupid! Sacrificing yourself like¡­ Tch¡­"


    Barned knew that he couldn''t stop them if they really wanted toe back. However, he also knew that he was being selfish. In this situation, their survival was should have been their priority, and if he decided to leave Rose and Azalea behind, his friend would have surely followed him.


    However, Banred consciousness didn''t allow to leave Rose and Azalea to the mercy of those men. His goal was not to save them, but to spare them from suffering. He was determined that he would kill them both and then die.


    This was was his choice, and he couldn''t drag his whole group with him. He knew that they were all powerful, and so their chance of survival wouldn''t decrease even without him.


    Moreover, fighting the soldiers was something that they needed to avoid at all cost.


    "Tch! Damn brats¡­" There were five soldiers in total. Moreover, they called for reinforcement immediately as soon as Alexander and the others appeared. "Don''t let them run away!"


    This was the worst oue. Barned and his group managed to avoid this oue because they made good use of their ability while focusing solely on running and hiding. After the public announcement, Barned lead the group by taking the safest decision.


    The reason for this was because even though they had particr gifts, winning against an experienced level 7 gift holder who had an elemental gift was almost impossible, considering that they were only level 4 andcked experience.


    "Run! We need to get out of her!" Barned shouted. However, it was already toote. A serious fight was unavoidable.<sub> </sub>


    The five soldiers were all possessed elemental gifts, and even though they were not as strong as Timothy or Elena, they could also materialize their power and created armor covering their body.


    In addition to this, their speed and the amount of primordial particle that they could manipte were superior. Therefore, even though their gift might be not particrly rare, it was still very destructive when used as a weapon.


    Benjamin was the first who tasted the power of a level 7 soldier. The soldier used his ability, which was lighting, to dash forward. At the same time, he had also made his attack unavoidable by controlling the particles in his surrounding and created lighting balls that were shot at Benjamin from all direction.


    Boom! It all happened so fast that Benjamin couldn''t protect himself. Even though he had a very dangerous ability, he needed some time to gather the particles into his body. Realizing this weakness, the leader had immediately decided to get rid of him.


    "Kuh!" Even though Felicia attempted to use her hair to protect Bejamin, she was one step tote. Benjamin couldn''t protect himself and took a lot of Damage.


    "I am fine, get Bejamin out of there!" Barned shouted.


    "Shitty brat!" The half naked soldier used his power to stop Alexander, and also Yoru from doing anything. The temperature dropped dramatically, to the point that the moisture in the atmosphere froze.


    This revealed Yoru''s silhouette, and because she was naked, the cold had damaged her skin. She tried to escape but it didn''t take long for the cold topletely freeze her.


    Alexander managed to teleport close to Benjamin, but he was immediately struck by a chain of lighting attack. He tried to avoid it by teleporting but the leader looked like he had already figured out the distance Alexander could teleport to at a time.


    "Gah!" The attack wasing from all direction so there was no avoiding it. Even though Alexander was fast, the leader''s was faster.


    "Alexander!" Felicia cried with a frustrated look. However, she was not in better position. Her hair was burning, and even though they were tougher than regr hair, it wasn''t yet tough enough to withstand the head of the fire generated by a level 7 gift-holder.


    In addition to this, the elemental gift of all of the three remaining soldiers were fire.


    Boom! Felicia was mercilessly bombarded with fireballs. Her body waspletely burned, but she managed to let Azalea and Rose go upstairs with Amelia.


    "Felicia!" Barned screamed in anger. However, his low body had already taken a lot of damage, and he was unable to move. Just in instant, all of his friend were taken down.


    "Tch! Finish them off. It looks like we would not have fun today," the leader said disappointedly.


    "Even the girls?" The half-naked soldier asked.


    "Yeah, I have already called for reinforcement. I didn''t expect them to be a bunch of brats." The leader sighed.


    Tears rushed down Barned''s cheeks, but he was powerless to do anything. He began to me himself. Why didn''t he just leave the two girls behind? Was his selfish action worth the life of hisrades?


    The half naked soldier took out a tinum sword and approached Barned. Barned closed his eyes, full of regrets.


    *****


    "Found you." Looking down at the building where Banred and her group''s fight took ce, Neige muttered a few words.


    Then, as if she was never standing there, she vanished, leaving only a dazzling afterimage behind.


    Before the soldiers could even understand what was happening to them, their heads were already rolling on the ground. "Eh?!"


    Standing in the middle of the room, Neige was holding a rapier like sword made of particles of light. After taking a graceful battle stance, with the rapier in front of her chest, rose had finally concluded that all of the soldiers were dead.


    "I waste," She muttered.


    After seeing what happened, Barned was at loss of words and just stared at Neige in awe.

 Chapter 181 The Emperors Daughter

    Neige decided to not follow the path her father paved for her. She didn''t want to be an evil person.


    Her father, the Emperor appeared like he never doubted his actions, making it seems like everything he did was correct. No matter how many people suffered because of his action, his expression didn''t change in the slightest.


    Neige didn''t like that about her father. Her father didn''t even hide what he was doing, the experiments, the secret executions, everything was shown to her. The darkness that was hidden behind the dazzling Empire.


    However, no matter what happened, Neige didn''t want to follow in her father''s footsteps.


    She was asked by her father to kill a person when she turned 15. And everything that could be considered to be her value as a female was stripped away in a very inhuman manner. Before she even understood emotions such as love, she was already forced to perpetrate the deed.  Her father watched all of this happening as if conducting an experiment, trying to break her spirit. Looking at her, every day, as if asking, do you resent me now? If so, what are you going to do?


    Neige was scared. Her father was not a human, she concluded. He was a monster who was using humans as ythings.


    The psychological torture that Neige had to endure increased in intensity. This time, she was asked to choose which she would decide to spare. In front of her were two, begging her to spare their family and the people living on their.


    The men began to appeal to her sympathy by talking about how there were young people like her on theirs, suffering because the resources were very limited. The men cried their hearts out, prostrating in a very pitiful manner.


    Her father didn''t say anything, waiting for her decision. What was it that her father wanted from her? Neige wondered, biting her lips.


    No matter who she would have chosen at that moment, she would still be responsible for the death of millions of people.


    Moreover, no matter how many years had passed, her father''s appearance never changed, and there was no such thing as a new Emperor. In other words, her father was immortal.


    It could be said, in that case, that her existence was not necessary to her father. She was an existence created inside of a tube, and there were countless artificial humans like her. However, it appeared like she was the only one with a personality.


    Her father didn''t even hide what he used these artificial bodies for. This was the reason why he was immortal, or more specifically, he transferred his memory from one body to another.


    Nheless, Neige''s spirit didn''t break apart. And at the very end, what her father asked her was to be the next Holy Mother and dedicate her entire existence to serving the God of the Empire. Her final mission was to be the sacrifice during a ritual that would save the world from an unseen threat.


    She continued to increase her strength and also waited for the right moment to break away from the shackles that her father used to bind her down.


    Finally, she witnessed a glimmer of hope. Someone that managed to make her father take such a dramatic decision. Adam Von Kepalta.


    Moreover, she knew about her father''s n. He didn''t even try to hide it. The Holy Mother was nothing more than a pawn. However, for some reason, she felt like the Holy Mother''s actions had also suggested that she didn''t care about the Empire. Neige didn''t know the Holy Mother''s true motives, but she know that there was someone that yed an important role in the n. Amelia Lyh Tylliard.


    *****


    During the incident that took ce within the Coliseum¡ªthe fight between Adam and the guardians¡ªNeige managed to locate Amelia. She knew that things were going to take a different turn from there and that this was her chance.


    Still, Adam and nca''s demonstration of power was so mesmerizing that she couldn''t help but watch what was happening from afar. During this time, Amelia had already gone somewhere. After all, the soldiers also began to check the identity of the students as they evacuated the area. The massacre had begun when some of the students tried to deny the usation of treason.


    ''This is not good,'' Neige thought to herself, looking at the chaos that began to spread all around the area.


    "Her Highness, we can''t stay here," the soldier, wearing shining armor who followed everywhere said. More than anything, Neige didn''t feel like they were there to protect her but restrain her.<sub> </sub>


    Boom! It was at that time that Derige''s power went berserk. Neige used this chance to get away from the soldier and went in the search of Amelia.


    Still, the city was big and it was not like Amelia would let herself be found by the soldiers. Still, Neige used her ability to travel all around the city very quickly, observing the movement of the soldiers. She knew that sooner orter, they will find Amelia. At that time, she didn''t expect that she would meet with Barned and his friends.


    *****


    Barned couldn''t believe what he was seeing. He never debated about the existence of miracles before nor did he think that there was a need to think deeply about such a thing.


    However, what happened could be considered a miracle. The girl, so beautiful that she appeared to be a goddess, standing in front of him was none other than the Neige Lyh Emporora.


    Under normal circumstances, she would nevere to a ce like where she stood at that moment. After all, she was the daughter of the Emperor. Someone who stood at the top of the hierarchy.


    "Nei¡ªNeige Lyh Emporora," Barned muttered in a daze. So much happened that he couldn''t control his emotions.


    "Where is the girl called Amelia? Is she not here?" Neige asked. She was sure that Amelia was there.


    "A-A¡­" Barned lost his cool and couldn''t even reply to Neige''s question. After his shock passed, the cold reality hit him again.


    Neige felt sorry for Barned and his friends but she couldn''t do anything about them. Yoru was dead, frozen. Felicia was dead, carbonized. Benjamin and Alexander we''re dead, electrocuted. And looking at Barned, she also realized that he didn''t have much time left.


    However, all of this would continue to happen unless she stopped her father. Knowing that she wasn''t powerful enough to do so, all she could do was join hands with Adam and help him. If she could keep Amelia away from her father''s reach, she could at least stop the progression of his n, or so she thought.


    Neige had thought about numerous ns to stop her father, but no matter what kind of scheme she came up with, the fact that she was alone in the middle of countless enemies that her father could control rendered all of it useless.


    "Sorry," Neige muttered and then proceeded to walk upstairs.


    Barned''s sport hadpletely shattered. Neige''s action might have been cold but she knew that nothing she could say would make him feel better.


    Arriving upstairs, on the second floor, Neige continued to walk through the corridor until she reached the end of it. Then, she looked up and saw an opening in the ceiling. She knew that it led to a secret room. She ignored all of the other doors because she could feel the presence of Amelia and the two sisters and went straight to them.


    She leaped to the ceiling and used the rapier that appeared in her hand to make a hole in it. Swoosh! Her movement was wless and didn''t even make any loud sound. She sessfully reached the secret room, and once she got there, she looked around the room.


    "Amelia Lih Tylliard? We need to leave this ce and meet up with Adam Von Kepalta," said Neige. Her voice sounded t, but she tried to appear as harmless as possible.


    However, she also knew that she didn''t have the time to convince Amelia if she was unwilling to follow her voluntarily. She was prepared to knock her out and then try to locate Adam. For some reason, she was certain that Adam wouldn''t die so easily. She wanted to believe so because everything would be lost, and her father would win.


    In the end, she never figured out what exactly her father wanted to achieve. She didn''t even know what else her father could be desiring. He already had everything, power, wealth, money, influence, and even immortality. Little did Neige know that the fact of having everything meant that a person also needed to create a new purpose for their life.


    "¡­" Neige could feel that someone was hiding behind the objects covered with arge fabric. The room was dusty, but Neige could see various footprints on the ground. Then, Neige took a step forward but¡­


    "Your highness, pleasee down. It''s time for you to return home," A voice called out to her from below. It belonged to someone that Neige considered as dangerous. Fineas the saint.

 Chapter 182 The Saints

    Everything about the beginning of the universal superpower known as the Empire was shrouded in darkness. For as long as people remembered, the Empire was already the only form of ultimate power and authority. The Emperor, the one standing at the top, never had to prove anything as to why he was at the pinnacle of this Empire.


    Indeed, those who tried to dig up what was buried in the past might have existed at some point, but no one even heard about them. They never existed as far as those who lived present were concerned.


    However, one of the reasons why the Empire could continue to tighten its control over the world was undoubtedly the existence of the Holy Church. A religious organization that had billions of believers.


    The Holy Mother, the first saint, the messenger of God, the bridge between the mortal world and the unseen, was the most important individual among the believers as far as the Holy Church was concerned. The only thing that the believers didn''t do was refer to her as a God, but she was no different than a God in their minds.


    Nor the Emperor, nor the Holy Mother had to prove anything to the world. They were just there as if it was an undeniable truth. Those who were born in this universe would certainly learn about the existence of these two beings and be forced to acknowledge them. There was no room for debate.


    *****


    The Saints were chosen amongst the most devoted believers and given the privilege to serve directly under the Holy Mother. They had the most sacred duty if the Holy Mother herself was not taken into ount.


    Nheless, no one knew how the Holy Mother choose a new Saint. No mortal knew, or so it was said because it was the only God who made the decision.


    Neige was chosen to be a Saint, and even though she thought that her training would be extremely hard, she was surprised to see that all she needed to do was to kneel for 4 hours in front of a stone-like throne. She was told that she would hear the voice of a God, and the Holy One would tell her when her training was done. But no matter how long she waited, such a thing never happened.


    That said, there was something that made Neige feel uneasy. The Saints appeared to be devoted to the Holy Mother as if they lost everything that made them different from each other. All of the Saints felt like they were the same person.


    Neige could somehow differentiate the stares of the people that looked at her. However, the Saints'' looked like they starred at something which didn''t exist.


    She wondered if she would be like that too once she be a Saint. Such an oue must be avoided at all costs, or so she concluded. After all, it felt like they were serving the Holy Mother and not the one they called God.


    *****


    Neige tensed up as soon as she heard Fineas''s voice. She made sure that no one was following her just a while ago but even so, the man who was also known as the Saint Fineas had already found her.


    Still, Neige couldn''t let Fineas find Amelia. Therefore, she tried to make it seems like she was searching for something else. "Sorry, but could you go back first? I am still searching for something in this ce," said Neige in her usual t-sounding voice.


    She tried to be calm and not let any hint of emotions slip out of her voice. She knew that the man below would immediately notice any form of hesitationing from her.


    "Searching for something, you say, your highness? Then, I shall lend you my assistance," Fineas said, and his voice sounded kind, devoid of any ill intent.


    "I appreciate your kindness, but this is something that I must do alone." Neige continued to buy some time. She gestured for Amelia and the two girls to be quiet, and then they purposely tried to make noise by turning the room upside down as if searching for something, covering Amelia and the girl with more fabric.


    Fineas, still not showing any kind of ill intent, came up, joining Neige inside the dusty room. "What is the object that you are searching for, your highness?"


    "It''s not here. I will stop searching for today," Neige said, turning around and facing Fineas. She tried to make it seem like she didn''t find what she was looking for.


    "Please excuse my curiosity, but is the death of these soldiers your doing?" Fineas had suddenly asked Neige a question as if he waited for her to look at him.


    "I did what I thought to be correct, ording to the teaching of the Holy One," Neige answered, not looking disturbed by the situation and Fineas'' question.


    "Indeed. I will trust your judgment.'' Fineas still talked in a gentle tone.


    Seeing this, Neige thought that he didn''t suspect anything. She already knew that he had already killed Barned from the way he asked that question. Nheless, he also didn''t feel like there what Neige did was wrong. At least, that was Neige''s impression.


    Fineas'' real thoughts were unreadable, and Neige didn''t even try to guess them. She just needed to make sure that he wouldn''t find Amelia.<sub> </sub>


    "However, lying isn''t a good thing. A saint should never lie. Isn''t that so, your highness?"


    As soon as Fineas said these words, the mood had suddenly be tense. Neige immediately understood what these words implied, and she couldn''t deny it.


    "What do you mean?" Nheless, Neige tried to work her way out of the situation by talking until the very end.


    However, Fineas didn''t answer Neige''s question and just continued to look at her with an unwavering smile. His expression was so unsettling that it gave Neige goosebumps.


    After all, this situation implied that Fineas knew exactly what Neige was thinking, or at least, he knew that he was searching for Amelia and found her. It seemed like the Holy Mother had sent Fineas to capture Amelia.


    In that case, Neige didn''t have a choice. She couldn''t afford to let Fineas take Amelia away.  She wasn''t sure why they only tried to make use of Amelia now. It would have been easier if they just kidnapped her. Or was it because of Adam''s existence? Did Adam protect her somehow? Neige didn''t know, but she knew what she needed to do to find the answers to these questions. She needed to take down Fineas.


    "What are you doing, your highness? The Holy Mother would be not pleased to hear about this," Fineas remarked, seeing that Neige had begun to use her ability.


    "She can go to hell!" Neige said, this time with a voice full of determination.


    "..." Fineas didn''t say anything, but his expression was no longer as kind as how it was a second ago.


    Neige''s gift was light, but even among the people who possessed the same gift, her ability was special. She couldn''t be ssified with the normal level attributed to normal people. It was as if her gift was already an authority since the beginning.


    Rather than controlling the particles of light, her body itself could be light particles. Unlike the other people who possessed the same gift as her, she didn''t night a source of light to use her power.


    "You are about to betray the Holy Mother and the Empire. Are you sure that this will be worth it? It''s still not toote," Fineas said, but Neige had already made up her mind.


    But for some reason, Fineas didn''t appear in the least terrified. He didn''t even look like he saw Neige as a threat.


    Swoosh! Neige''s movement was not visible to the human eye. She was not yet able to travel at the speed of light, but she was fast enough to kill someone in a fraction of a second.


    She aimed at Fineas neck, trying to take him down with one hit when he was still not yet prepared to fight.


    Neige was strong, and she knew what she was capable of. However, she also knew that there were people who possessed insane abilities, like Adam and surely, her father.


    She had never seen Fineas fight seriously before because there was no need for him to fight until then. But he couldn''t be as powerful as Adam, or so Neige thought.


    sh! Indeed, Fineas didn''t even react to Neige''s attack. He was neatly beheaded without even having the chance to draw his sword.


    Fineas'' head rolled on the ground, and with a big thump, his body copsed. Blood bursted out from the ce where his head used to be attached and begin to cover his surrounding.


    Neige looked at Finea''s head who still had a calm expression with his eyes open. For some reason, his face made Neige feel uncertain.


    "Hey, let''s go! We need to get out of here!" Neige''s character has suddenly changed, and so did her tone. As if she didn''t try to act like a princess anymore.


    She pulled away the fabrics that covered Amelia and the two sisters, then asked them to stand up. The girls were terrified but there was no time.


    "What? Don''t look at me like that. Do you want to die or what?" Neige said, feeling a little bit annoyed by the girls'' reaction. However, the girls wasn''t looking at her and shrieked away.


    Seeing this, Neige felt like she needed to look behind her. However, she also felt she shouldn''t. But when she did, there was something grotesque there.

 Chapter 183 The Saints (Part 2)

    Life had already witnessed a lot of horrible things, and the sight of blood, human entrails, and all sorts of gore, resulting from seeing people being tortured was something that no longer made her flinch. She didn''t even know if she should be sad about this fact, but to ensure that she wouldn''t break apart, she learned to conceal her emotion and built an iron wall around her heart.


    However, there were still things that could make her feel disgusted, send chills down her spine even.


    Slurp! With a disgusting slurping noise, something was happening to Fineas'' body. His mouth was wide open as if sucking back the blood that flooded out of his body. Moreover, his blood was not even red anymore but turned into a sticky and viscous ck liquid.


    "What the hell is this?" Neige couldn''t help but feel revulsion at the sight of Fineas who stood up as if he was never lying on the floor a while ago. The viscous ck liquid gathered around his neck as he stood up, fixing his head. However, his head faced backward, and he used his has to rotate his head to face Neige and the girls.


    What they saw left the girls horrified, unable to speak, and just looked at Fineas with teary eyes while trying hard to not scream in fear.


    "Th-" It looked like Fineas tried to say something but there was something wrong with his vocal cords.


    ''He wouldn''t go down that easily, huh,'' Neige thought after seeing Fineas who still had that calm look on his face. ''So this is the power of a Saint? It''s more like something associated with a demon of some kind.''


    ? Neige tried to think about all of the options that were left. She needed to meet up with Adam, that was her priority. There were a lot of ways to achieve this if she was by herself, but things would be more difficult with Amelia around. It was even more difficult now that there were two more girls.


    If they get cornered, she envisaged leaving the two girls behind, but that wouldn''t change anything much if the reinforcement arrived. As such, she couldn''t hold back. She needed to get rid of Fineas for good.


    Nheless, she also needed to consider the idea that the Holy Mother monitored her movements. In that case, the situation wouldn''t improve even if she get rid of Fineas. Well, could she even do that in the first ce?


    ''What was that sticky back liquid? It was as if his body was made of that substance. Is that his ability?'' Neige continued to analyze the information that she acquired,paring what she saw with the image of various fluids stored inside of her memory.


    "¡­" Fineas didn''t move, and just stood there. It was as if he didn''t intend to attack Neige even after she beheaded him.


    "Tch." Clicking her tongue, Neige stood up and prepared to fight Fineas seriously. Seeing her, Fineas tilted his head.


    The first thing that she needed to do was to keep Fineas away from Amelia. With that decided, Neige''s body began to emit a bright fluorescent golden light. Then, countless visible light particles continued to gather around as her body took them in. Soon, her entire body became semi-transparent, and she was stuck in midair.


    Light and Darkness were somewhat special even among all of the elemental gifts. Without light, nothing would exist, but wherever light exists, Darkness also is present. These two elements always exist and are present everywhere in the universe.


    "¡­" Fineas still looked unconcerned at the sight of Neige''s transformation. The girls, on the other hand, looked at Neige with eyes full of hope.


    The room was illuminated by Neige''s power, and soon, she entirely turned into the crystallization of particles of light. So, theoretically, Neige would be able to exist anywhere, everywhere. She was now able to move at light speed. This was not only limited to the current universe, but that was something that she hadn''t yet managed to figure out. She hadn''t yet managed to unlock the full potential of her ability. But since the creation of the empire, she was the only one who could manage to achieve this level of mastery of the light elemental gift.


    Without wasting any more time, Neige attacked Fineas without holding back. She aimed to destroy Fineas without leaving a trace.


    Now that she was in her astral form, Neige could also converge the neutral particles around her into light particles. And by directing all of these particles into a single point, she could create a form of destructive energy that was as powerful as a sr re.


    Boom! All of that happened in a blink of an eye. Even someone who had lightning ability couldn''t do anything much when faced with such an attack. All of that amount of energy was directed at Fineas in a single ray of light. However, it was alsorge enough to disintegrate his whole body. At least that was how it should have been.<sub> </sub>


    "¡­" Neige looked down at the huge hole in front of her. Half of the building was destroyed by the attack, but somehow, Fineas survived. Or more precisely, what was left of his had survived.


    The viscous ck liquids that were still stuck on the walls and the ground began to move. However, Neige wouldn''t leave any chance for Fineas to do anything.


    In a sh, all of the viscous liquids were disintegrated by the right of lights that originated from a single orb of light that appeared in the middle of the hole. Then, several such orbs of light appeared around Neige. She was still on her guard.


    The energy contained inside these orb of light were enough to destroy a whole city. However, Neige controlled them without any difficulty.


    With such a power, she could easily take her father head-on, or so people would think if they know about her power. However, there was a reason why she was convinced that she wouldn''t be able to do so. Her father had so many secret weapons that could stop her.


    Besides, it was not like she could use this power forever. The longer she used this power, the harder was for her to maintain her consciousness from vanishing. If she was not careful, she would vanish and be a simple particle of light.


    As these thoughts crossed Neige''s mind, she finally concluded that Fineas wouldn''te back. Thus, she decided that it was best to not waste any more energy and reverted to her normal.


    "Kuh¡­" However, as soon as she regressed to her body made of flesh, she felt the pain that came with ascending into a higher realm and thening back.


    Unlike Adam, she wasn''t aware of the true nature of the astral body. She was relying on her instinct. For some reason, even those who were said to be the strongest within the Empire didn''t know about this. It was as if the term gift and authority, as well as the level, were sued to limit people''s imagination concerning what''s beyond that. Even the exnation given about the nature of the levels of gift-holders didn''t make any sense.


    "Are you alright?" Not thinking about all of these details, Neige approached Amelia and the girls. She looked like she had trouble moving her limbs, but she didn''tin because there was no point in doing so.


    "Yeah¡­ I¡­" Amelia looked like she wanted to say something. After all. She didn''t express her opinion all of this time and just went with the flow, almost as if she had given up thinking. She was still scared, and she looked like her mind was exhausted. She appeared to be fine physically but her eyes looked tired and almost lifeless.


    Noticing Amelia''s situation, Neige wondered about what happened to her. But this was not the time to be talking.


    "Let''s move from here!" Neige knew that no one would suspect them if they just make sure to be careful as they moved around the town. As of now, no one knew that Amelia or the two girls were connected to Adam, and as long as they were with her, the princess, no one would dare to do something to them. At least, that was what she hoped.


    Neige proceeded to clean the girls'' faces and tidied their clothes so as not to appear suspicious when they walked together. Then, they didn''t use the front door, instead, Neige had a wall on the floor and then they went underground. She nned to move underground until they were a bit far from the building.


    The girls followed her without much question, knowing that Neige might be theirst hope if they wanted to survive. Asking for her reasons wasn''t something necessary at this point. They saw Fineas after all. He was a monster.


    "Guh! Kush! Kush!" Suddenly, Rose began to cough violently and vomit blood. They were moving underground, in other words, through the sewer system, so it would be pretty normal to throw up due to the smell, but what happened was something different.


    ck viscous liquid¡­ He was really a monster.


    "Rose!" Azalea cried, holding her sister in her arm. However, a hand, no viscous ck liquid took the shape of an hand and gaped Rose''s mouth open.


    Seeing this horrifying scene, the three other girls couldn''t help but feel goosebumps.

 Chapter 184 The Saints (Part 3)

    The young girl''s body quivered violently, her eyes rolling in her head in every direction. Her sister, Azalea, tried to restrain her because she was looking like she was about to herself. Rose''s delicate limbs were about to break apart as they began to bend unnaturally in the wrong direction, her bones making weird cracking noises.


    "Rose! No! What''s going on?!" Azalea was at her end wits. She didn''t even know why they had to go through such a painful experience, one after another, as if everything they endured until then were no more than the tip of the iceberg.


    "Get away from her! Get away!" Seeing what was happening, Neige immediately connected the dots. She knew that this situation was somehow rted to Fineas'' ability. It might have been some kind of infection but that thick liquid was not something that should be touched.


    Amelia took a step back, but Azalea couldn''t leave her sister to die. "No! We need to help her¡­ Please, please¡­" She looked at Neige with pleading eyes.


    The thick ck liquid continued to gush out from Rose''s mouth, and at some point from her nose, her ears, and even her eyes. Her face was now covered with this disgusting liquid.


    Neige didn''t know what to do about her. She didn''t have any idea about what could be the reason for the sudden violent convulsion. The thought of leaving the two girls behind crossed her mind, but considering the situation, she didn''t know if Amelia was also infected. Was it even an infection to begin with?


    "Get away!" Rose had forcefully shoved Azalea away, seeing that the ck-shaped hand extended out from within Rose''s body and tried totch onto Azalea''s face.


    Realizing what was happening, Azalea tried to stand up and return to her sister''s side despite Neige''s warning. "I can''t leave her like this¡­ I¡­"


    The two sisters were always together since their childhood, and they were close to each other, leaving no ce for anything else standing between them.


    The hand that extended from Rose''s mouth moved abnormally, then another one came out, and then another one. Rose had already passed out due to the pain when the second hand came out. The sight of her sister in such a condition broke Azalea''s heart apart.


    Rose''s body was now suspended limply above ground, using the four hands as support. Then, finally, a head appeared in the middle of the four hands.


    "You are still na?ve," The entity said. It was just shaped like a human head, but it was all ck, and with no eyes. Only a bizarrely big mouth.


    Neige frowned while Azalea continued to take one step ahead as if she had already lost her mind. No matter how hard she tried to appear tough, the reality that she was facing wasn''t something she could easily ept.


    "Hey," Neige grabbed Azalea''s shoulder but there was no reaction. Her eyes were staring nkly at what had be of Rose''s body.


    ''This is not good,'' Neige thought. It was as if Fineas was just ying with them. ''Unless I figured somehow out how did this thing manage to invade her body, it may be problematic.''


    ? Moreover, now that she looked behind her, at Amelia, she noticed that she was also acting weird. "No, no, no¡­ I don''t want to¡­ No! Stay away! Get out of my head!'' She was mumbling something under her breath while grating her face with her nail, to the point that it started to bleed.


    "Hey, calm down!" Neige said, trying to stop Amelia from hurting herself any further. This was a situation that she didn''t expect. She knew that it wouldn''t be easy, going against her father and all, but for some reason, the feeling of uneasiness that she felt was not based on anything she was seeing at that moment. It was more like an intuition. That would mean that the worst had yet toe.


    What happened to Rose might have been the beginning of something far more terrifying.


    "Soon, we will be reunited again," the entity said, looking like it read what Neige was thinking.  And as if implying that her intuition was spot on. The worst happened.


    ck liquids overflowed out of Rose''s body and then formed a single sphere, before leaving her body and falling to the ground.


    With a thump, Rose''s lifeless body hit the ground tly. Azalea rushed at her but then, her body stiffened while she was still midway. Everything that happened to Rose was happening to her too. The difference was that there was no presence of the entity and only ck liquids.<sub> </sub>


    Neige''s eyes were wide open. She was confused, and frustrated, and felt like she waspletely overwhelmed by the situation. She didn''t understand what was happening. ''Na?ve,'' was how the entity described her current self. She didn''t see anythinging¡­


    Rose and Azalea were now lying beside each other, unmoving, no longer breathing. Their eyes were hollow¡ªThe two holes on their face apparent. Their jaw was forcefully torn open. But there was nothing that Neige could do.


    She noticed that her breathing quickened, and her hands were slightly trembling. She thought that she no longer felt fear, no longer felt sadness¡­ Only a strong desire to kill her monster of a father.


    She had indeed thought about leaving the sisters behind at some point, but now that she realized that everything she had done until then might have been for nothing, she had somehow regretted thinking about such a thing.


    Nheless, she couldn''t turn back now. She couldn''t give up. She needed to move forward, because of him, yes him¡­ He was herst hope. Maybe, this was just her running away from reality¡ªFeigning ignorance. After all, no matter how strong she had be, she was always powerless against her father. She couldn''t change anything¡ª In the end, she continued to make other people suffer under her father''s order. She could have refused to listen to him, but unknowingly, she was scared of what would have happened if she did. That was why she erased this option from her mind and persuaded herself that she only chose to follow his order because she didn''t have the choice.


    "Tch¡­ This is not the time for hesitation," Neige cried, pinching her cheek. "Let''s go." Grabbing Amelia''s hand, forcefully, she continued to move forward.


    *****


    A few moments before the meeting between Neige and Fineas. In a room, somewhere deep under the grandiose tower of the Holy Church, a woman was kneeling in front of a majestic throne beautifully carved from a single boulder.


    She was wearing a white cleric robe, along with essories made of gold. A diadem on her head. A ne disying the symbol of the Holy one hung around her neck. And bracelets proving her vow to servitude on her wrists. Her face was covered by a white veil, but her almost translucent tinum-colored hair fell beautifully like waves on her back. She was the one known as the Holy Mother.


    "Your presence is as unsettling as always, woman." Walking inside the room, and approaching the Holy Mother from behind was a man, who also had an imposing presence, different than the Holy Mother¡ªthe Emperor.


    "How long are you going to continue your pointless game? I can only tolerate such absurdity because you are producing results befitting your reward to this point. If the vessel were to be unusable, your punishment shall be capital," said the Holy Mother, with a tone, unbefitting her image of a saint.


    "Now, now," the Emperor rebuked. "Those are important experiences, for me to understand human nature." Looking like he didn''t take the Holy Mother''s words seriously, he proceeded to sit on the throne.


    "¡­" The Holy Mother immediately stood up. "You seek an audience with the Holy One, yet this is how you behave in his presence. Your wish was indeed granted, but the Holy One will certainly consider your crimes."


    At the Holy Mother''s words, the Emperor showed a fearless smile. "I hope it''s worth the trouble. All of these years, I have waited for this moment. The final phase. Though you don''t look like you are happy."


    "The Holy One is the only one who fills me with joy," The Holy Mother replied, her voice devoid of emotion.


    "Sorry for interrupting your heated exchange but I want to begin if you don''t mind," said a third person, entering the room with an unconcerned gait despite being in presence of two of the most imposing character in the Empire. His name was Drakel.


    "Has Adam received his gift yet?" The Emperor asked with a grin on his face, looking at Drakel as if he didn''t find his presence an inconvenience.


    "Yeah, should be there soon. But you owe me one in exchange for using my future wife," Drakel replied in a concerned tone.


    "I look forward to seeing what kind of human he is," the Emperor said. "Well, let''s begin."


    All of the elements needed for their ultimate n were now gathered. It was time to put it into execution.

 Chapter 185 See You Again

    :::[Adam''s POV]:::


    I was exhausted physically and mentally. I had to do a lot of thinking, trying toe up with an answer.


    Looking back at the time I spent in this world, I always felt like somewhere in my mind, I couldn''t ept that this was now my reality. Thinking that losing someone here wouldn''t probably do anything to me. I guess I was still immature.


    However, that was also not the problem. ''If I want something that feels real, I needed to make the effort to create something real. No matter who stands in my way, I will not just let everything get taken from me again. Even if it doesn''t feel real, I will make it so that all of the possibilities lead to a single oue. And from there, I will eliminate all of the possibilities of a bad end. But this can''t be done the way I am now, while I am tied down with this body.''


    A world where only the possibility of a bad end doesn''t exist was the world that I needed to create, and I needed to be a God to do that. I know how arrogant my thoughts sounded, but looking back at my life, there was nothing to lose.


    If I didn''t even consider this option, might as well give up. After all, I realized that as a simple human, the fact that I was given the ability to choose was just an illusion. A human could never choose the oue of his life¡ªonly death awaited at the end of their journey. Werger they suffer or live a fulfilling life, they would still die.


    As for me, everything that awaited me at the end of my life as a human was suffering and death. I couldn''t ept such a thing, knowing that there was a possibility to change this oue.


    Still¡­ It was not easy. ''To create this future, I needed to sacrifice the present.''


    The question was why? It was simple. ''The current me wasn''t powerful enough to have everything I wanted.''


    Just the fact that someone could read my mind left me unable to escape from my fate. Moreover, this entity was so cunning and have the power to destroy everything important to me.


    This person had a n, a scheme that could lead to the death of millions of people, my family included. He didn''t even try to hide what he was doing in the first ce, it was just that everyone was already brainwashed, unable to see anything. This entity, on the other hand, was even aware of my existence and my ability.


    "Truly, a scary individual. I don''t know if he is even human." He had absolute control over this world by monopolizing some information, and also by changing history.


    The fact that no one knew about the true nature gift proved my theory. I was thinking about how the Empire became such a superpower, and more importantly how this reality didn''t change after all of these years. Was it because of many people working together? No, it wasn''t. It didn''t look like something as normal as that. However, how did the Emperor, a single individual manage to stand at the top of this world all of this time?


    The answer was the nature of his abilities, and also his intelligence ¡ª a way of thinking that was beyond human capabilities. And there must be something or someone, even bigger, even smarter behind him. At least, I crafted my n based on this assumption.


    Now, I was in their way. And I needed to ovee this first obstacle. But why didn''t they eliminate me immediately? I came up with various theories to answer this question, but the first thing that I did was to find a way to make sure that they continued to see me as someone who was not a threat. In order to do that, I thought about the existence of Pride. At that time, Pride and I were the same person but with different memories and experiences. I used the same method, almost as if it was a hint as if someone had expected this situation, someone more frightening than the Emperor, or the one backing him.


    This entity must be a higher being, so I can''t hide anything from them for the time being. Anything I could think of wouldn''t work against them at that point.


    However, that was something that I needed to deal with after dealing with the Emperor. They appeared to not have the intention to mess with me for the time being, and I couldn''t stop them even if they did. They were certainly the entity that was most close to the description of a God. The fact that they still have to be somehow involved with me, however, proved that they were not yet satisfied with their current situation. "It makes me feel like the peak of the mountain that I need to ovee was higher than the sky itself¡­ I go up and up, but never reach the top¡­ But that''s better than falling."


    Anyway, I made sure that the Emperor didn''t notice my real objective. However, something half-hearted wouldn''t work against him. Therefore, I needed to lead them to think that I was somehow aware of their existence but still unable toe up with something that could stop them, giving them the impression that he could deal with me anytime.<sub> </sub>


    Based on the fact that they didn''t try to interfere with me all of this time, I concluded that they were the type to not let anything alter their n, capable of integrating even unexpected variables into the bigger picture. In other words, he was very cunning and had a grasp of everything that was happening in this universe¡ªargework and a vast amount of information.


    In that case, there was no telling how he did to gather all of that information. It was not like I suspected Cristal, it was just that I didn''t trust anyone since the beginning. It was a fight that I had decided to do alone. There can be only one God, or else the possibility of a bad ending would never disappear. I need to create this idyl with my own hand, even if I had to lose everything else in the process. After all, any kind of sacrifice would be worth such an oue.


    There was no telling that I would find the answer before it was toote. After all, I needed to find a way to force the whole world to bend to my selfish desire. "Haha¡­ Why am I even thinking about this now? I am still a human huh¡­"


    *****


    After dealing with the guardians, I decided to check on Liu''s situation first. She was in possession of the tree fragment. In order to not let the Emperor notice what I was trying to do, I let Liu go, knowing what was going to happen to her.


    As such, I was heading to the territory of Fenrirus intending to destroy the whole ce to recover the fragment. Considering the direction that the Emperor''s action lead to, however, he was about to do something big. In that case, maybe the fragment was already in his possession.


    Nheless, I had to go there. I had to witness the consequences of my decision. I need to make sure that I understand that there was no turning back. I didn''t intend to feel any regret at that point, however, I wasn''t about to let what was left of my humanity vanishpletely. For the sake of witnessing that world while still being myself, I needed to treat pain and suffering as a reminder that I was human.


    "I was waiting for you, Adam. Hehehe!"


    I looked around me but I couldn''t see anyone. It seemed like someone was talking directly inside my brain.


    The territory of the Fenrirus family was already in sight. It was situated above ground, still on the Empire''s main, on floating inds. There were approximately fifty such inds, and most of them were as big as a whole city.


    ? What caught my eye was the building that looked like some kind of towers that were once built by the Chinese Emperors on Earth. They were, however, bigger in size and the material used appeared to be more robust. Still, it was a beautiful sight.


    "As I expected, your thinking process is different from aboriginal people of this world. It was easy to identify you as an outsider. Well, I was impressed by your way of thinking¡­ It''s quite simr to mine, yetpletely different. That doesn''t make you any less of a monster. So, why don''t we y a game to see if you are still a human inside," the voice said in a provocative tone.


    From the look of it, the area covered by this person''s domain was extremely vast, including the whole.


    I didn''t answer the voice inside my head, and they probably knew what I was thinking anyway. I couldn''t also block them using my power. It was the right choice to use the astral body trick. After all, now that I already know everything I needed to know, all I needed was to put this knowledge into use.


    "If you only it was that simple¡­" Reading my thoughts, the person on the other side interrupted mockingly.


    As I approached the Fenrirus''s territory I saw a spaceship, and then as I approached, its main entrance opened, revealing four giant ck boxes.


    "This is my gift for you. I hope you enjoy your long-awaited reunion¡­" the voice added with a hint of innuendo.

 Chapter 186 See You Again (Part 2)

    :::[Third Person Pov]:::


    The Emperor, the one who seemed to know it all, tried to test Adam. He knew about Adam''s determination, but like he always did, in order to understand human nature, or so he described the purpose of it all, he was pushed it the extreme.


    Adam''s regret, fear, and the things he had sacrificed¡ªeverything, his entire being was now put to test. Was he just pretending? What lies deep inside his heart?


    "¡­" This was clearly a provocation, an ultimatum, Adam knew. He had already made up his mind; he decided that he wouldn''t regret anything because the future he had his eyes set upon was not a utopia built on top of regrets and losses. He hadn''t lost anything, he convinced himself. The only thing that was real was the existence of people who loved him, and people whom he cared about. As long as this fact remained, nothing else mattered. Nothing was lost¡­ Yet¡­


    Adam''s eyes widened. He didn''t show any excessive expression on his face, but he was not perfectly calm either.


    The reason for this was the content that was preserved inside the ck boxes.


    They had partied together once; they fought side by side¡­


    "You shouldn''t have done this," Adam muttered, his voice sounding almost mechanical.


    She was also there. Her limbs looked like they were somehow stitched together after being torn apart. Her once, cold and yet beautiful expression was gone. Her eyes were nk, devoid of life¡ªthe same as the others.


    There were various metallic wires plugged into their back, and they made a hissing noise as they came off one by one from their make body and ck liquids gushed out of them. This view would freak anyone out.


    "I like that expression¡­ Show me what can you do." This time, the Emperor used Timothy''s body to talk to Adam. No, all of them¡ªLiu, Elena, Timothy, Brandon¡ªwere controlled like lifeless marites.


    "Even if I need to destroy this entire universe, I will make sure that you will never be able to return to existence again after a erase you," Adam said, his voice devoid of emotion. He just said these words as if it was an inevitable oue.


    "Mmm¡­ Do entertain me¡­" This time, the Emperor talked through Liu, as if answering Adam''s threat with a provocation.


    Swoosh! Tssss! Before Adam could even react, Timothy was already in front of him.


    Boom! Then, a blow in his gut sent Adam flying backward.


    Timothy''s body was coated with lightning energy, and Adam was hit with a huge amount of energy, a literal lightning strike.


    The thunderous noises created by the impact echoed throughout the whole area.


    "Are you surprised? You thought that the attack would be nullified?" The Emperor said mockingly through Timothy, seeing that Adam was not dead. Adam had still not shown emotion on his face, but the Emperor, who could read his mind, knew that Adam wondered about how his nullification didn''t work in this situation.


    Moreover, it looked like Timothy was several times more powerful than before. Almost as if his full potential was unlocked.


    The other three had also risen in the air, facing Adam. Crystal-like wings grow on Liu''s back, while fiery mes in the shape of wings on ina''s. Brandon, on the other hand, had half of his body turning into dust particles. All of them had unlocked the hidden power of their gift.


    "Yes, that''s it. I gave them this power. They are powerful now, and free from any kind of emotional restraint. Let me also answer your other question," reading Adam''s mind, the Emperor said, from Liu''s mouth."You think about finding me so that they would be released, but that''s not how it works. They will still continue to destroy everything even if I don''t do anything. Until their flesh breaks apart, and their born melt¡­ They will destroy everything in their path. You need to destroy them yourself! If you say that you can kill me, this should be easy, right?!"<sub> </sub>


    Adam didn''t say anything, and he also attempted to suppress his thoughts.


    "I already know everything. Indeed, if you discard everything that is holding you back, you may make that dream of yours a reality. But only, if you are the strongest¡­ Only the strongest don''t need any trick or n¡­ But, you are still not the strongest. Yet, you try to act like you are the strongest by thinking that you will just destroy me for now," the emperor continued.


    As he did, the moisture in the air within a hundred meters of Adam''s surroundings began to freeze. The temperature dropped to almost -100 degrees Celsius all of sudden.


    Adam was not affected by this because he could now manipte the atoms around him, using fire particles to generate heat around him.


    "¡­That ultimate n of yours, that perfect answer¡ªHow exactly are you going to turn it into a reality? Because, look in front of you, everything else is under my control¡ªeven you. I will now destroy everything that you have a connection with or attachment to in this world, and you will watch, thinking that it''s the right thing, that it''s inevitable, right? But Aren''t you just trying to delude yourself because you couldn''t ept the reality, convincing yourself that you can''t fail? But apart from using multiple tricks what else can you do? Everything that you have lost, and are about to lose, can you bring them back?"


    Boom! After the Emperor said these words, Elena created an explosion of heat, reaching 3000 degrees Celsius. This caused a destructive phenomenon that could annihte any kind of living being around.


    The Emperor knew that this would be not enough to deal with Adam. No, he wasn''t trying to get rid of Adam, in the first ce. It was as if he was testing Adam''s limit.


    "You think that you are different than everyone else, don''t you? You feel special. You think that everything would somehow work in your favor in the end¡­ All you need to do was to work harder, right? If you do that, you will be a God," mockingly, the Emperor, from Elena''s mouth, remarked. "Everyone else does that, yet they don''t seed, they still die miserably. But you, you are special, so that doesn''t apply to you."


    "Shut up." Adam didn''t react to the Emperor''s provocation. To protect himself from the attack, he surrounded himself with the Darkmatter.


    "That illogical confidence. Is it because you have that ability? Even if you aren''t even aware of how to use it? Well, you won''t be able to unlock its full potential the way you are now, and you are aware of that. Yet, you are confident? This must be advanced from insanity, don''t you think so? Because, here I am, capable of controlling this whole universe as you guessed, yet I am nig a God. What does that make you?"


    Liu and the three others surrounded Adam from all directions, while the Emperor continued to throw these words at his face as if it was also some kind of weapon in itself.


    "I knew this would happen," Adam added, unshaken by the situation. Even after Liu, the woman that he considered someone important, was in front of him. Her beautiful skin had now be greyish, like rotten flesh that was held together from falling apart by some kind of chemical product.


    K


    "Don''t lie. I can read your mind," the Emperor rebuked, and the one-sided attack on Adam continued.


    Chains of lightning, a scorching sea of me, frost tempest, rain of mercury¡ªall of these came at Adam at the same time.


    "I knew you would try to stop me if I had the n ready in my mind. That was why I stopped thinking after I reached the answer I needed. I have all I need to destroy you, and I can think about a n while doing that," Adam added, using the Darkmatter to protect himself, but the attacks were too powerful, and Adam would get tired sooner orter. "I decided that it was enough to deal with you."


    "Hahaha, so funny! It''s so funny!"


    In the middle of the battle, the four puppets begin to break up inughter, holding their stomach as they ached fromughing too hard. It was, of course, to make fun of Adam in the most disturbing way possible.


    "I haven''t had this much fun in a long time. It''s not every day to find a subject of an experiment that can make meugh like this¡­Hahaha¡­Haha¡­ Wait a little bit, I am out of breath," Liu looked like she couldn''t breathe anymore as the Emperor used her to say these words. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come at me with everything you got. For now, you haven''t even managed to enter the rank of things that I consider threats. There are a lot of stronger beings out there, you know."


    Adam didn''t say anything. Nothing would change even if he did. What he had to do was the same. He wouldn''t this kind of reality be permanent and unchanging.

 Chapter 187 See You Again (Part 3)

    Inside the spacious worshipping room, the Emperor had suddenly erupted in a burst of violentughter. "Hahaha! This is even better than I excepted!"


    The Holy Mother who was close by scorned, not even trying to hide her feeling of disgust. But all of that was hidden behind the veil that covered her face. Still, they were in the middle of a serious conversation, so she was forced to say something to the man that she found sickening. "I have already warned about the consequences that you will have to face if you fail, but it looks like you are already tired of living. Shall I take your soul now?"


    The Holy Mother talked in an almost mechanical way, not wanting to let this man witness any hint of emotion in her voice.


    "Unlike you, who is already full of God''s love and doesn''t need anything else in this world, I get bored easily. I am always in search of something interesting, and that''s the reason why I epted to give you a hand, woman," the Emperor replied, showing no indication that he was about to change his attitude. "This young man might be my new source of entertainment for years toe after I finish my business with you. I ought to take care of him so that he is ready to perform when I need him to."


    "I will pretend I didn''t hear anything. Your destiny depends on the Holy One''s intention after all, not on me." The Holy Mother implied that the Emperor''s fate was already predetermined, and from her tone of voice, it was a fate that would make satisfy her.


    "Indeed, I look forward to that." The Emperor didn''t take her seriously as he answered in a yful voice as if mocking her for being so serious.


    "That young man is a threat, you should know that," The Holy Mother continued.


    "I know, that''s why he is interesting. However, I am curious about the reason why you didn''t take the initiative to deal with him."


    "That is because the Lord hasn''t ordered me to do so. The young man must be part of his divine n, but it is not my duty to inquire about that. However, if you continue to interfere like this, things may change," the Holy Mother warned.


    "What do you know? Maybe my actions were also part of this divine n. After all, he hasn''t told me to stop, right? Besides, I am keeping away so that he wouldn''t interfere. He was also foolish enough to not think of a n. Well, I would know everything, so that may be not a bad way of thinking." This time, the Holy Mother didn''t say anything to the Emperor''s response.


    In the room, however, there was another person who worked on a device that rose from below the ground, changing the roompletely.


    The huge metallic cables attached to this device were connected to something somewhere, but the device had a space that looked like a person would fit inside¡ªonly one. There was still no one inside of it for the moment, but the three people present there knew who the person that would be the key to the sess of this n was.


    "This should work now. Let''s begin," Drakel said, satisfied by his work.


    "The vessel should be here by now," The Holy Mother said, looking at the Emperor. He was the one who said that the vessel needed to develop a personality as a being who possessed a soul at the very beginning, but he just continued to y with it. This displeased the Holy Mother but the Holy One hadn''t said anything rted to the matter.


    "I didn''t do anything, they should be on their way now. You took care of them personally, right?" The Emperor said, but it wasn''t too long before the huge door opened.


    Two knights wearing shiny armor entered the room, holding two girls in their arms as if carrying princesses. However, they weren''t being saved from the viin, they were about to be thrown at them, literally.


    "So we finally meet, my sweet Amelia." Standing in front of the girl who shook in fear, the Emperor showed a big and ominous smile.


    After that, he looked at Neige who was half-dead, lying on the ground, covered with fatal injuries. She had fought with everything she had but it was not enough. Moreover, she was wrong, she had it all wrong. She was frustrated. The Holy Church was never an organization of any sort, it was a single entity, a single person.


    Looking at the woman, who looked pure, picturing the form of a God if they were to turn into a woman¡ªlooking at her, Neige finally understood, but it was toote.


    A demon who controlled the soul; a who controlled the mind; and a true mad scientist. They were the core of the superpower known as the Empire. No, they were farmers who fed their animals to fatten them, until they die they would be turned into meat. And that time hade¡­


    From the beginning, Neige was living on this huge farm like livestock. And when one pig tries to escape from its cage, the farmer would notice its weird behavior, but the pig wouldn''t think that far. She was just a helpless pig who was about to be put to death.<sub> </sub>


    "Okay, let''s proceed," Drakel said putting on rubber gloves of some kind with a ''spak'' sound.


    "¡­" Neige hadn''t given up hope yet. She still believed that Adam, who was not an ordinary person, would be able to stop the people in front of him.


    "I never expected you to be such a sentimental, my daughter," the Emperor interfered with Neige''s thought. "Unfortunately, he is not as strong as you think. He is even more foolish than you are. Did you really think that I wouldn''t know what you were thinking? Still, I hoped that you would find something more interesting, rather than putting your faith in a stranger. It''s not like I am constantly monitoring your thoughts if you think that it''s the cause of your failure. This woman, for example, I can''t read her thoughts. Why? I don''t know, but there''s a way. You just gave up too easily."


    The Holy Mother turned her face at the Emperor when he said those words. Though her expression was hidden, it wasn''t hard to guess that she wasn''t pleased by his words. "Well, wouldn''t it be interesting if this girl managed to interfere with your God''s divine n? Maybe you would have need reconsider your standing after that, who knows?"


    The Holy Mother ignored the Emperor''sment and turned to Deakel. "Do proceed."


    Drakel approached the two girls, holding two tubes made of ss and filled with a translucent liquid.


    Then, he stood in front of Amelia. The girl was so threatened, and her spirits werepletely shattered. No one knew what the Emperor whispered to her every single day, but even though she was strong at the beginning, she was now broken.


    "A-A-A¡­" She mumbled some iprehensible words and wetted herself with her. Drake looked at her with disgust.


    "Tch," he clicked his tongue seeing that Amelia had dirtied the floor. Then he grabbed Amelia''s hair and forced one of her eyelids to open. After that, he gouged her eye out.


    "Aaaaa!" Amelia screamed in pain, but Drakel pay no mind to her cry and proceeded to put the organ inside one of the tubes.


    Amelia reached for her face who was covered with blood with her hand but Drakel wasn''t finished with her yet.


    "Don''t y around," the Holy Mother said, seeing Drakel''s method. She knew that with his ability, he could have done it faster without wasting time.


    Drakel possessed a particr gift that let him manipte a certain aspect of space. For example, he could make that only his hand would appear somewhere else while still being connected to his body. With this, he can grab human organs from within their body without dissecting them. The only downside of his ability is that he couldn''t teleport his entire body, as he needed that a part of him stayed behind. No one knew where he would end up if his whole body entered that subspace.


    "I know, I know," realizing that the Holy Mother appeared to be getting rather impatient. In just a blink of an eye, he gouged three more eyes. This time, Neige had also cried in pain. Drakel used his fingers to directly grab the eyes from within the girl''s head.


    "Aaaaaa!" The pain was unbearable. Amelia and Neige couldn''t do anything.


    The Emperor looked like he was not entirely inside the room, his mind was wandering away, so he didn''t show any emotion at all. The Holy Mother''s face was hidden but her face would not show any change of expression.


    After that, Drakel grabbed Neige, but she struggled, so the two knights grabbed her from both said and put her inside the device.


    Drakel then his power to perform a quick surgery on Neige, imnting Amelia''s eyes in exchange for hers.


    The Holy Mother took a nce at Amelia, and as if the knights understood her thoughts, they dragged Amelia away by her legs like some kind of trash.


    "It''s done," Drakel said, implying that it was the beginning of the end of the Empire.

 Chapter 188 See You Again (Part 4)

    ''It looks like I keep being underestimated,'' Adam thought, ''but I know that the enemy wants me to think that way in order to appear superior. One of the things that those who stand at the top fear the most is the rise of a stronger opponent that could strip them of everything they have. If I want to reach my goal, I need first to change my way of thinking and not think like a weak person and act like someone who possesses the Authority of Creation & Destruction.''


    These were Adam''s thoughts as he was being barraged with a powerful burst of destructive power from all directions.


    Boom! Some of the floating inds which were part of the Fenrirus territory were caught in the outbursts, which almost annihted the whole thing. The four puppets controlled by the Emperor didn''t leave Adam any time to breathe.


    Adam, however,  didn''t appear to be panicking in the least, knowing that this was something that he must ovee. He didn''t give any room to doubt despite what the Emperor said. He trained his mind for fifteen years, agonizing, thinking, agonizing, and back to thinking again¡ªConsidering all of the possibilities, facing his biggest weaknesses, and understanding his limits.


    ''I will not let human morals or ideology restrain me,'' Adam continued his inner monologue. ''Humans couldn''t reach the perfect answer because they were doomed to fail since the beginning. There were those who tried to escape their fate, but there is a reason why no one heard about their sess. It''s typical for a human to discard their humanity to obtain greater power. But I will impose my selfish desires on the world until it bends down to my knees.''


    ''It''s impossible because you are just a human. Aren''t you being ridiculous? The universe can''t be understood by a simple human. A human can''t do anything about their fate. A human can only be happy with what was given to them. Just because you are a little bit powerful, it doesn''t mean that you are free to do anything you want. A human needs to ept and learn to adapt, then they would find happiness¡ªDon''t joke with me!''


    The Emperor didn''t seem to have tried to interfere with Adam''s monologue. However, he had also begun to reconsider his opinion of this man called Adam.


    "Why are you trying so hard to convince yourself that what you are doing is the right thing?" The Emperor used Liu to transmit these words, sounding like he pitied Adam.


    "Because that''s what humans do. I intend to keep this part of me, the aspect that made me agonize in my previous life. Even if it''s a perfect answer, there''s no reason to not doubt it. I will continue to think about this answer again and again as I take new elements into consideration, to see if it''s still the perfect answer. I will do that to see if it still leads me straight to my ultimate goal," Adam said with a determined voice.


    "Hahaha! This is interesting! I didn''t expect to find someone as wicked as you in this world! I can''t even say what kind of delusional thought is¡ª"


    "As I expected," Adam interrupted the Emperor, "your ability is not that all-powerful." He had finished analyzing his enemy''s weakness, as well as their intention.


    "Tell me, why didn''t you use everything you had to kill me when you had the chance? It''s not because you couldn''t but because you were forced to discard the idea. Meaning that there is still a being that is capable of making you bow down. The question is, can you read the thoughts of this being?"


    "You say something interesting, I must say. That won''t change the fact that you can''t still beat me. Can you even beat my puppets?" The Emperor emphasized the word ''puppet'' to provoke Adam.


    After that, the four puppets released their full power, in other words, they ascended to the next level and turned into their astral forms. It was an impressive spectacle, something that Adam had never witnessed before. He was used to seeing his astral body, but he had never seen someone else in this form.


    Once in astral form, the flesh disappeared and the body became almost translucent, emanating a bright gleam, showing that it was made of particles and condescended energy. In this form, they could manipte every particle in their surrounding, bypassing thew of space and time¡ªas particles existed and continue to exist even within every dimension, in every timeline.


    However, a normal human would never be able to process all of that information even if they were to achieve the astral form. At best, what they could do was use their astral body to converge all of the particles in their surroundings and increase their power significantly. Still, if they made a mistake, then they would be absorbed by ''the natural order of things and would die.


    Adam understood everything just by looking at the astral bodies. He realized that the ability to summon his astral body without his physical body disappearing was a miracle in itself. And this was all because of his authority.


    Then, he thought about the hint. Why did his abilities activate when he wanted them to activate? Why he nothing happened when he wished for something that was beyond his capabilities?<sub> </sub>


    These questions seemed obvious but the answer was there. One just needed to think, not as a human who had epted things as the way they were, but as a human who wanted to be a God.


    "¡­" Even the Emperor was taken aback by Adam''s thinking process. It looked like he was solving riddles one by one, figuring out the answer behind all of the mysteries. It was indeed the best way to avoid the exposition of his n. ''Is this why he was sparred?''


    ****


    The answer to Adam''s question was, of course, the Natural Order of Things, or The Autonomousity. Creation manipted Nothingness to make existences, and Destruction render all existences into Nothingness. This was simple. However, to make all of that possible, another thing was needed, the third Primordial authority ''Autonomousity''¡ªFor the two other authorities to activate, this another element was needed.


    By themselves, the two authorities were just tools in form of a mass of energy. In order to keep these tools from going out of control, and make sure that do what they were supposed to do, the third authority was vital¡ªIt was the most important of all authority or any form of power, and the most powerful force in all of the ensemble of what exists. In other terms, it was the will and the God of Creation himself.


    The power of the Autonomousity authority was to make something happen and to control the order of things. This authority determined what could be a reality and what couldn''t depending on the circumstances and the order of things pre-established. For instance, if the God of creation wanted to create a universe, this authority would make that happen by activating the Creation ability and following the order of things, from the creation of atoms to the birth ofs and gxies, preventing anything that shouldn''t be part of reality from urring.


    Without this authority, the universe would cease to exist. This was the reason why the dimensions and the realities separated stayed separated and didn''t copse on themselves, even if all of the infinite possibilities exist at the same time.


    This was also why it was impossible for a rock to turn into a human no matter how much time passed, for a human to birth a higher dimensional being even by coincidence, and for the flow of time to progress backward¡ªEverything followed a Natural order, and everything will always follow the natural order set by the God of Creation I''m the universe that he had created.


    Sooner orter, this authority would put everything back to how it should be. Things that happened and would happen would be always within the pre-determined calction. Otherwise, they wouldn''t happen.


    As such, even three supreme beings were within this calction, and their existence was nothing unnatural. They existed because their existence was somehow beneficial for the whole existence.


    ? As such, one they, the supreme being of Omniscience wanted to create a future in which the Authority of Autonomousity would be forced to let someone ignore the rule imposed for the sake of the universe. The only way to do that was¡­


    [You have this tendency of talking too much. That should be enough for now. You are an observer, not  an educator.]


    ¡­


    ¡­.


    ****


    Adam had finally figured out the existence of Autonomousity, or at least he knew that something like that existed. He has also figured out how to deal with the situation, and what he needed to do next.


    "I need to find a way to manipte this mysterious force¡­ In order to do that, I need first to understand how it works," Adam said, sounding like he was finally ready for the next step.

 Chapter 189 See You Again (Part 5)

    "Humans doubt about what they feel because they are human. If I don''t convince myself that the emotions that I felt are real, then I wouldn''t have felt anything at all to begin with," Adam to talk again¡ªyet another monologue, but he knew that someone was listening.


    Adam understood the first thing that differentiated a human and any higher tier beings out there¡ªThey understood how the Autonomousity worked. In the first ce, every beings created by God of Creation should be equal, so the existence of these entities were a form of anomaly. They managed to find a way to change the natural order of things and ascend into a higher realm of existence.


    In that case, even if someone managed to gather the fragments, it was not like anyone could be a God, or so Adam concluded. Things weren''t that simple. It was impossible for a simple human to do this, and there was no need for a human to do such a thing in the first ce, if everything followed the natural order of things like how everything should have been.


    That was when Adam remembered about another detail. The corruption.


    "I am surprised! You are more intelligent that you appeared to be¡­ No, your intelligence is not that outstanding, but you continue to think you continue to think constantly," the Emperor said through Liu. It looked like he had hard time following Adam''s thinking process. A while ago, he wasn''t even thinking about nothing at all, and all of sudden, he managed to solve one the mystery of the universe.


    "No, all of the hints were always there, I just needed to think, and think again. Looking for a connection between all of them. Pride''s words and his existence, the vision, the mystical world, the authorities, the corruption. And I will do the same with you¡­ I should have enough information to deal with you now, but you are not alone. What are you nning to do with the tree fragments? What''s Amelia''s function in all of this? Who are you working with and what is your goal?" Adam continued, showing no change of expression.


    He was also, at the same time, blocking the attacks of the four puppets, without even showing any hint of exhaustion. He didn''t even let the thought cross his mind as the Emperor would immediately notice.


    Boom! Swoosh! Fwoosh! Five elements were manipted to be destructive forces, capable of destroying a whole¡ªand Adam was facing all of them alone.


    Heat¡ªso intense that it would melt a if the user was strong enough to extend their domain to such extent¡ªThe same with the cold. As for the the lighting, it was one of the destructive force of nature, and could split a into two. As for the earth particles, they were the most unpredictable of all, creating a new metal that only existed in the most hidden corner of the ensemble of everything that exist¡ªthe Voidium; a metal that almost as heavy as a ck hole.


    Using their respective ability, the four puppets didn''t hold back and used their full power. The destruction spread, and all of the floating Ind in the surrounding were disintegrated one after another.


    The air was not even breathable anymore, and a human would vanish just by standing at a few kilometers around this deadly battleground. Fortunately, the battle took ce above ground, but even so, the ground below was often struck by a destructive lightning, andva were raining down like meteorites. It was the first time that such a battle took ce within the Empire''s territory.


    Adam, the one who were targeted by these attacks, didn''t feel any fear in his heart, nor did the thought of losing or dying crossed his mind. He dealt with the situation without wasting any more power than needed. As such, he coated his body with ayer of Antimatter. Now that Adam understood the nature of the Creation and Destruction authority, he just made use of the the Nothingness around him. The Creation ability modeled the Nothingness in order to create something from it. As such, everything that existed was also a form Nothingness, and he could control if as long as he fulfilled certain condition. In exchange of Verte, he was able to actiavte Authorities. However, he could only activate them and use a little bit of their power before exhausting all of his vitality.


    For someone who was still a human, Adam''s ability was retrained by the Natural Order of thing. One of the rules of natural order of things was ''the equivalent exchange¡ªThe three others were, order, possibility and impossibility, and material and immaterial.


    The authority of Autonomousity keep everything as how they should be. In exchange for more power, a person must fulfill all of the conditions, as long as they existed inside of this universe created by the God of Creation.


    Order. The person must follow the order of things pre-established, progressing from zero to ten. That was why, jumping to ten, for example when ites to acquiring a new power, would just cause the person''s death. That was the natural oue, and natural order. After lifees death.


    Possibility and Impossibility. Someone could possibly turn a rock into a bread, and the possibility of a rock turning into a bread was not existent either. However, these possibility couldn''t be turned into reality unless the person possesses the ability to change the atomicposition of the rock. As such, the authority of Autonomousity would not allow a normal person to turn his wish into a reality, making it an impossibility.<sub> </sub>


    This also shows that a being who progress to the next level of their existence would just be given an the aptitude to manipte the Autonomousity in order to make their imagination into reality. However, for their to happen, they must feel the condition needed for the exchange. What did it take for the Autonomousity to let someone change a rock into a bread? What kind of things they needed to be aware of? What kind of energy was needed in the process? The authority of Automousity would deem a person unworthy if they didn''t even understand how to make their wish a reality. Because, that would mean that were incapable of making it a reality.


    "In that case, it would be also possible for a higher being to change what kind of imagination a lower being can turn into reality, as long as they fulfill the condition required. What Pride did make sense now. My first dedication about that matter was wrong. Creating two abilities for a limited amount of time in exchange for his existence¡ªHis existence was worth that much. This is why some human can used gift and some couldn''t. Those who were created, or not part of the original human couldn''t use gifts because their creator didn''t fulfill the condition," Adam muttered to himself, as if recalling all of the thinking that he did. As long as he continued to think, he believed that even this conclusion might change.


    Somewhere, in a room where he controls and receive information, the Emperor, his real body, felt chills.


    "I see, so someone can bestow the ability to use gift to someone as long as they can fulfill certain conditions," Adam continued, but the Emperor couldn''t read his thought anymore. "You can''t read my thought, because even even the unseen form of electricity can''t pass the antimatter. Your ability is really convenient and powerful, as you could just install devices that can implify these signals in order to be able to manipte the tiny bits of electricity is inside people''s brain, right? This was the reason why you couldn''t read the my memory when I didn''t think about them. You try to make it seem like you can though."


    "Hahaha, I am speechless!" Indeed, the Emperor installed such device all around the universe, and with the help of technology he could amplify the signaling from his brain, an ability that was known as telepathy, like some of kind of detector, and then he deciphered the data that he collected. He could even forcefully send data, like voice, into someone''s head. He was a master of mental maniption. The way he used his ability showed his intelligence.


    However, Adam solved it all. He thought that he could nullify the Emperor''s ability when he questioned Amelia on board of that ship, but he was wrong. His nullification ability couldn''t stop this exchange of data. This was the reason why the Emperor knew about everything, and could even manage to control Crystal. His ability was like a virus that infiltrate everything that needed a certain amount electricity to function.


    "So this is why you can control these puppets. A way to ovee the natural order of thing huh," Adam muttered.


    The third rule of the Natural order of Things was Material and immaterial. The universe itself was divided into two, material and immaterial. Nothing can be at the same time in a material form while being immaterial. The human soul was immaterial but their body was immaterial. The soul can''t materialize while the body was still in a material form and vice-versa. Even the so-called gods couldn''t ignore this rule and would be subject to the rule of everything who is in material form when they take the form of a human.


    As such, the one who brought Adam to this world, the one who panned everything and left all of these hints had fulfilled all of the conditions to make it happen.


    A soul that contained the Creation authority, and a body that had connection with the Destruction authority. A way to prevent the person to use the power, and to protect them from themselves.


    "Let''s end this, I still have many questions that I need to ask them whoever they are. I am sure we will meet someday,"  Adam said, thinking about what he what he needed to next. First, he had someone to kill, no there were two of them. And also a viiness to exterminate.


    "This is insane! Hahaha! I like it! I like it!" The Emperor''s excitement showed on Liu''s face.


    "What are you talking about? It''s not that extreme. I can''t think of any other way for a human to be happy unless they do this much. I thought about it again and again, but the answer is the same. If every human became a God, everything would be the result of their choice¡ªtheir existence, their death, and their happiness. If you have to ept what was given to you and cherish it to be happy, then I understand why I wasn''t happy in my previous life. I couldn''t ept that was given to me was not the same as the others. So the only option is to choose my form happiness myself, and make it happen for myself¡­" Adam said with an unwavering voice.


    "It seems like I was wrong about you! Come!"

 Chapter 190 See You Again (Part 6)

    Three people¡ªthe Emperor, the Holy Mother, and Drakel¡ªwere currently inside a hidden underground room. The Holy Church, which was a tall tower built in the middle of the biggest city in this universe, served as a cover for whatever these free people were plotting. Only the three of them knew about the purpose of their actions, and their years of nning.


    The Holy Mother who was as involved in this n as the other two faced the device which was confined to Neige. Since that day when she received that revtion from the only presence that she acknowledged as superior, she had continued to use everything in her disposition to create this very moment.


    At the very beginning, she, the Holy Mother, was just another girl that had been blessed with a bright mind. The Empire didn''t exist yet, and not as many people possessed the gift. Yet, monsters had already continued to invade and destroy everything.


    But, as everything should be, if there was a powerful evil, the natural order of things would make it so that a Hero would also appear.


    Fascinating. The young girl was fascinated by this mysterious phenomenon, about the world, about the hero. How did it work? Why did the hero possess such power? What was his sword made of?


    From then, she continued to search for answers and was hungry for more knowledge. However, no one could understand her. Why would anyone think about that? Can''t we just live a peaceful life and be satisfied with that?


    The girl had begun to hide her interest from the world, but she knew that working as a royal knight would give her ess to more information, something along the lines of records of ancient unexinable phenomena, a story about gods, and even demons.


    She continued to scrutinize these materials to understand what was happening around her. Unlike those fools who relied on something they didn''t even understand to save themselves, the girl, who had now grown into a beautiful woman, didn''t wish to continue on the path of ignorance.


    Her understanding of the world had indeed deepened after a few years, but it was not enough. And then, there was also the Hero.


    At first, she perceived him as a soft and stupid human being, living like an animal who eats, sleeps, and produces children. Everyone around her was like that. This was also why she like working as a knight because she didn''t want to find a husband or build a family, she didn''t want something as bothersome as that.


    But, all of sudden, the man had be a hero. This made her question various things. Why was he chosen? She couldn''t understand.


    And even after bing a hero, his attitude didn''t even change¡ªit made herugh. It was just so stupid, she thought.


    The hero continued to protect people from monsters and grew stronger, yet she still couldn''t understand anything about the reason why he was chosen. Was it because of something that would happen in the future? Maybe so, she concluded, seeing the hero''s progress.


    A hero was chosen because of what they would aplish in the future. She found this logical, but it still didn''t sit well with her. How could it be that simple?


    One night, she skimmed through a pile of paper in which the deeds of past heroes were written, finding no clues, until¡­


    "You desire to know, don''t you? I will show you, but¡­" Suddenly, sitting on top of her bed, was an entity. She didn''t know when this entity appeared, but she felt that there was nothing wrong with them being there.


    She was unable to see their face and didn''t even feel the need to move or to do anything about the situation. She just stayed there bewildered.


    "¡­In exchange, I want you to do something for me," the entity continued.


    *****


    "Hahaha! This might be bad!" A voice brought the Holy Mother to reality as she was reminiscing about the past.


    The Emperor should be using his power to gather people in groups around every church in the universe. From there, the holy mother would use her power to extract their soul which was tainted by corruption. This was the first step of this final n. As such, the Holy Mother frowned when she heard the Emperor''s words.


    "Even the three of us might not be able to handle him," he added, looking exasperated.<sub> </sub>


    "What are you talking about?" The Mother asked with a cold voice. Even Drakel looked at the Emperor with a puzzled expression.


    The process shouldn''t be interrupted, and failure would be not tolerated, everyone inside the room should be aware of that.


    "Don''t worry, I was just joking. You looked so tense. But we might need to take the matter rted to that kid seriously. Drakel, why don''t you look at what happened? I lost my connection with the four puppets, including your wife," The Emperor added, shaking his head as if he couldn''t believe what happened. Still, his expression didn''t show in the least that he was panicking. On the contrary, he looked like he was having fun.


    ''I really wonder why they didn''t eliminate the kid yet, my master, and even her so-called God. Not that it matters to me though¡­ Unlike you, my happiness is already in front of me, kid,'' he thought to himself.


    "What? Tch¡­ She was a very rare specimen you know," Drakel said, sounding angry after hearing the Emperor''s words.


    "Make sure he wouldn''t interfere. Eradicate him if needed," the Holy Mother said, at which Drakel nodded, not taking the Emperor''s words as a joke. In the first ce, it was his tendency to mess around that caused this, she thought.


    "¡­" The Emperor didn''t say anything as he watched Drakel leave the room. "I finished my job. I made all of them gather around the church. Now, it''s your turn." Seeing that the Holy Mother was ring at him, even though her face was hidden, the Emperor reported thepletion of his task.


    Unlike other gifts, the Holy Mother''s ability was ominous and was not restricted by any kind of distance¡ªSoul maniption. An abstract ability that let her materialize the soul. And as long as a fraction of her soul was close by, she could activate her ability and everyone around that fraction would be subjected to the effect of her power.


    Soul resonance¡ªa phenomenon that happened when a group of people, gather in the same ce and enter a state of trance, which happened during religious rituals. At that moment, it was said that their soul leave their body. In a way, this theory was not wrong, but it was not totally true either.


    However, the Holy Mother''s power was something that was beyond her own existence. It was given to her to achieve a single purpose. Her soul had be a sort of ma that drew other people''s souls.


    As such, she had materialized her soul and divided it into many fractions, then put them inside a puppet, known as a priest of the Holy Church. It took a long time to do so, and a lot of energy to not find a way to prevent her soul from vanishing, as well as create the puppets capable of hosting a fragment of her soul.


    But little did she know about the real nature of her power. A real God might not lie, but was that entity a real God? Like the millions of believers, was she also putting her faith in someone that would lead her to her demise?


    She was told that she would find the answer by herself as long as she followed the path traced by that entity for her. At first, she didn''t believe it, but soon, she began to solve some of the mysteries of the world one after another, leading her this far¡ªThe Holy Mother had long discarded her doubts.


    Rumble! The gigantic tower budged, changing its form, and revealing a huge chalice.


    Those who didn''t know about Adam''s battle, and also those who didn''t care about the whole ruckus were somehow this event.


    Then, it began. There was only one, at first. They fell on their knees, coughing a ck and viscous liquid until something ck gushed out of their mouth.


    People didn''t know what was happening to them. And that was when they remarked that there were priests, wearing white robes standing here and there. No one cared about such a thing, thinking only about themselves.


    The people living in the Empire were really living like livestock, not caring about anything. They were fed, they were protected and they had a home.


    That was why, at that moment, they began to scream in fear as people fell one by one like flies, engulfed by a feeling of despair, not knowing what was happening to them.


    "Let''s begin the harvest." This was the harvest that the Holy Mother was waiting for. The harvest of soul. Souls that were now ready to be used for something greater.

 Chapter 191 See You Again (Part 7)

    Unknown by anyone present on the Empire''s main, even less by those who were on differents, a being that reached the pinnacle of evolution, the highest realm that humans could achieve in their mortal form, someone who could now ascend to the next level¡ªsuch a being had appeared.


    It happened a couple of minutes before the Holy Mother''s harvest, around the territory of the Fenrirus n.


    A young man, Adam Von Kepalta, took four powerful humans, possessing extremely destructive power all by himself.


    However, he wasn''t scared. His determination didn''t waver, but he was not a monster of some kind; he was a human and would continue to be one. He was just free from all restrictions, after discovering the way to bing a God. He knew that his opponent''s struggle was meaningless.


    Their attack didn''t reach him; the ground trembled, and the sky rumbled but it didn''t affect him. He looked at what was happening without doubting victory.


    The Emperor, the one who thought that he had Adam dancing in the palm of his hands, was now feeling Adam''s immediate change. He was apletely different person.


    The authority of Autonomousity had allowed him to be a different person. This was the result of his 50 years of thinking, trying to solve the mysteries behind his power and finally reach enlightenment. He fulfilled the condition required.


    No matter what kind of attack his opponents used against him, it didn''t reach him.


    "My reality is here," Adam said, pointing at his head. "Most humans think that what they see, what was given to them, their life, was everything they got, so my way of thinking would be seen as a delusion to those ignorant. But if you have the power to turn your imagination into a reality, why also ept the suffering that doesn''t even belong to you? No matter what happens in this world, in this reality; no matter what you do, it won''t affect me. As long as I am alive, not a single one of them is dead. I remember them."


    Adam didn''t act as if he was bragging. On the contrary, he was calm and collected. His words exhibited a powerful certitude that only the strong could exert¡ªA superior being.


    To simple humans, living every day doing their best to be happy, Adam''s words wouldn''t make any sense. However, that was why he was approved by the Autonomousity to ascend to the next level. He was not a simple human, because he understood what other humans didn''t, he knew about the possibilities, he had the power to make them a reality, and he no longer hesitated.


    "You should have stopped me while you still had the chance. Now, your end is inevitable. This is my requiem." Adam reached out his hand, as he said these words.


    Then, he addressed hispanion, not the Emperor, muttering, "See you again." In front of him was the body of his fallenrades, of a person that could have shared precious feelings with him, but he didn''t waver¡ªHe didn''t feel any sadness.


    "Calm."


    ¡­


    ¡­


    There was no sound, no burst of power, no bright explosion¡ªjust tranquility. This was Adam''s domain. A ce that didn''t exist anywhere, yet there. A neutral space filled with only nothingness.


    That was where he needed to start if he wanted to create the perfect world, Adam understood. However, he couldn''t move, he couldn''t do anything. Just being able to observe this space for a few seconds¡ªthat was his current limit with his mortal body made of flesh and blood, even as a superior human.


    Adam was not omnipotent, and his power was not limitless. He could only remain within this space for a few instants.


    He could feel that his body couldn''t keep up with the power that he was wielding, causing his flesh to wither, to the point that he looked like a mummy¡ªhe couldn''t even open his eyes. Fortunately, he had his reliable cape to prevent him from falling from that height.


    It was the effect of the equivalent exchange. More power equaled more life force taken from him. He had probably only one day left to leave if he didn''t do anything about his body.


    However, Adam wasn''t even surprised, nor was he shaken. He had already taken this into ount, and for the moment, he could convert neutral particles into energy. He had also used his power to create flesh and organs inside of his body.


    It was a delicate process, but Adam had learned everything he needed to know about the human body when he had the time. He knew theposition of the flesh, the bones, and the organs down to the single atoms. Converging the nearby particles was not the hardest.


    When he finally managed to open his eyes, all that was left was the damage down by the battle.


    Now, he had to take care of various things before nning his next big move. He had to find out the way to use the fragments to ascend to the next levels, but he still needed to retrieve them. But first¡­


    *****


    Inside a dark room, a man stood in front of a wall, looking at a beautifully painted portrait of a woman, disyed in arge golden frame.<sub> </sub>


    "I have done it," he muttered. However, there was no hint of satisfaction in his voice. He could feel the ground shaking, but he didn''t move away from the portrait.


    The man desired immortality more than anything else. He had amassed a lot of wealth, and obtained a lot of power, increasing his influence, and creating his own empire. However, he would still die¡ªit was inevitable.


    Once this thought crossed the man''s head, he suddenly felt that everything was worthless inparison to immortality.


    As such, he didn''t stop to anything for the sake of finding a way to prolong his life. He performed inhuman experiences; explored every hint, everything that had reference to immortality. It had be an obsession. And the more he get older, the more he became scared.


    No matter what, he had to find a way. At first, he included his family in his n, but soon, he didn''t even care anymore, when first, his wife condemned his vile actions.


    Well, long as he was immortal, he could do anything. Even if they were gone, nothing would change, he concluded. Even his children were receable.


    "So, this is how it feels to be immortal," he muttered to himself.


    Boom! Boom! The whole tower continued to tremble as if someone was demolishing its foundation.


    "Has it begun?" He asked himself, thinking that the trembling was rted to that man''s n.


    That man, the Emperor, was the one who made his wish a reality. He was now more powerful, and immortal thanks to him, but he didn''t intend to remain under his control forever, the man thought.


    Boom! This time, the wall behind him was blown apart,pelling him to turn back.


    "So you were here, the head of Fenrirus," the young man, Adam Von Kepalta, who appeared in front of him said. He was holding a transparent cylindrical container in his hand¡ªwith a severed head inside.


    Zen Fenrirus knew the face, one of his daughter''s so-called friends. Zax was her name, or so he recalled. He thought his daughter was quite stupid, thinking that she could take his dream away from him just because she was one of her children. Like her brother, she didn''t deserve to be standing there with him, now that he had reached a higher realm. They should have been there with him now, but they decided to be restrained to their pointless morality.


    He had also heard about this man. The one who had influenced his daughter to kill him. Even the Emperor was wary of him¡ªbut now that he met him, he was nothing special. Another kid who didn''t know anything.


    Compared to him, with his newly muscled body, long ck hair reaching his hip, and two long horns that symbolized his superiority, Adam''s skinny body and messy white hair were more of an old man.


    "Puf¡ªhahaha!" Zen couldn''t help butugh. He felt that he had no longer anything to fear. He had a lot of things to do from there, including conquering the Empire. "They should have believed in me. No, they would never be able to understand." He was talking to himself but the arrogance of his voice was striking.


    "You¡ªguh!" Before he could say anything more than he did, a hand grabbed him in the face. He struggled to free the hand from his face but was unable to do so.


    Then, Adam rose in the sky, his hand still grabbing Zen''s face.


    With his power, Zen tried to fend Adam off, by trying to transform into his newly acquired astral body, but¡­


    "You don''t deserve to be forgiven," Adam muttered, and then Zen felt a sudden change happening to his body.


    "Aaaaa! What is this?" His body was returning to its original form little by little.


    Adam used his power to force every atom that formed his body to regress down as if time reverted for him. What is this? What is this? Zen couldn''t believe what was happening to him. Everything, his power was about to be gone. Why? How? He was confused. He didn''t understand what Adam did to him.


    "So you can make a face like this?" Adam asked, his voice containing no hint of emotion. He just found the old mad pitiful.


    After that, Adam injected iron particles in Zen''s joint, making him unable to move, and then, left him to go on a free fall down to the ground from that height.


    Maybe, Adam thought, he regret his actions while falling. Some Gods may give him a second chance and he would be reincarnated, or so Adam thought. Though, he could only a ck dot appearing on the ground from where he looked.

 Chapter 192 The Corruption

    "What a hassle," Adam muttered to himself, holding the container containing Zax''s head while floating in the air. He had his eyes locked in the direction of the city where the Holy Church was. He followed the ck particles that drifted in the air until he found where they umted into a single giant ck orb.


    Adam knew that the Emperor was involved in some kind of plot, but he didn''t know what it involved. Well, it didn''t matter to him. What he didn''t change.


    He nced at Zax. Her brain was somehow kept active so she wasn''t dead, but she wasn''t alive too. From the look of it, someone was performing inhuman experimentation within the Fenrirus territory, and this person was the one who did such a cruel thing to Zax.


    Not only Zax, but he also found the corpses of Feldenis and Maria inside what looked like aboratory. They were probably treated as failures because their body was dissected but not put back together.


    Adam saw some of the people who were affiliated with the Fenrirus n running around like ants, then something escaped from their bodies, something ck. They appeared to be quite confused by what was happening.


    "¡­" Some of them might have been involved in many crimes and atrocities, but he wouldn''t take the time to ask every single one of them.


    Among them, however, Adam noticed someone wearing the clothing of a priest. Maybe he could extract information from them, he concluded.


    But before that, Adam pointed his finger at the tallest building, the castle of a madman, along with all of the secret rooms and the atrocities perpetrated inside them.


    "Incineration." It was a single huge ball of ck mes. Engulfing the building that was almost 600 hundred meters tall. The mes spread quickly and were extremely destructive¡ªthe hottest mes that any human gift holder could ever produce.


    Satisfied, Adam had finally rushed down to his next target¡ªthe priest.


    Adamnded on the priest abruptly and pinned him on the ground with his leg, stepping on his chest.


    "¡­" However, after looking at the priest, he immediately understood the situation.


    The priest didn''t even react to the pain nor shocked by Adam''s sudden appearance. He still had that fake smile on his face.


    Ignoring the priest, Adam looked around, but could only see bodies lying on their ground, a ck and viscous liquid spilling out of every hole on their face. It reminded him of a scene from a horror movie.


    Nheless, Adam didn''t show any reaction on his face and just disintegrated the priest with ck mes too.


    He was conserving his energy so he used the most destructive power that didn''t require a lot of energy to activate¡ªck mes. He converted the particles around him into fire particles that only he could manipte. One of the powers of the creation Authority.


    Now that he understood how it worked, he didn''t need to activate his nullification power anymore, nor did he need to create that domain of twenty meters wide.


    The word ''understanding'' made all the difference because there was a natural order to all things.


    By chance, anyone could identally create an elixir that cures all diseases, but they wouldn''t understand what caused the chemical reaction, and so they would continue to keep recreating the same conditions to create more. That didn''t mean that they knew how to create the elixir of life.


    Adam used the power of Authority while not understanding how it worked. He didn''t even know about the existence of Nothingness, so he just recreated the conditions in which he could use the mysterious power.


    But even after all that, for the time being, he just converged the particles around him, in other words manipting the Nothingness in his surroundings, go into a power that he could control.


    Even though he understood how to use the power of the Creation authority, it was not like he could immediately create a human, a whole universe, or something such as that.


    At best, his mastery was at level 0.1, not even 1, if some kind of measurements were used to turn his current ability into statistics. He would probably be able to create a human at around level 70 if he could create a universe at level 90 or something like that.


    Adam himself understood this, but he knew that there was not always a shortcut to everything. And he wouldn''t be always so lucky. Being able to use the Destruction Authority to activate his domain was already an exceptional achievement for a mortal. So he had to finish the job with those for the time being.


    "The Destruction authority is damn powerful though," Adam admitted, as he made his way through the city full of dead bodies. Even the Fenrirus n wasn''t sparred.


    The Destruction, as its name implied, and authority that had the power to destroy. But destroy what? In simple terms, it undid what was done by the Creation authority, and that was why, only Nothingness would be left after the activation of the Destruction ability¡ªabsolute tranquility.


    "These priests appeared to be rted to what''s happening. It''s a really disturbing ability," he analyzed, thinking back about his fight with the puppets. "However, it''s not the same as the ability used to control these puppets. I already felt this feeling before¡­ These ck particles are corruption."


    If that was the case, the fact that all that corruption was now being gathered in a single ce was all but a good thing. Moreover¡­<sub> </sub>


    "It''s not only from this," Adam noticed, gigantic ck orbs entering the atmosphere. It was quite the sight.


    The ck orb at the center of it all continued to grow, almost the size of a moon.


    Adam rose in the air again, looking at the scene with a calm expression. But he understood that he had to do something, and quickly. However¡­


    "¡­!!" Adam felt something grabbing his heart.


    *****


    ''What''s going on with this guy?'' Drakel thought, looking at Adam who seemed to have noticed that he was using his ability to grab his heart.


    He hade to this ce only to see that hisboratory was destroyed and the whole tower was turned into ashes. This brat had also destroyed four of his specimens, even his wife.


    Drakel had always loved to experiment on human beings. He wanted to know how to create life, but that was only the second reason. He loved to see the interior of a human body and to break it apart and then put it back together, adding new modifications, making something superior out of it.


    Fortunately, his gift was also extremely useful for his passion of him. And in exchange for doing some work for the Emperor, he could do anything he wanted.


    He didn''t really care about the fate of the world, and even less when it came to wealth and power. It didn''t give him that sensation when he tore open the stomach of a human, looking at how their entrails worked while they were still alive¡ªthat was a thrill.


    Recently he found a specimen that he wanted to study so badly and obtained it. He wanted to modify her body so that he could look at what was inside whenever he wanted. A body that could open, yet still have working organs inside.


    Now, all of his projects were destroyed because of this brat. What was the problem with him anyway? Why didn''t the Emperor just get rid of him?


    "Tch¡­ Now, I have to dirty my hands. He doesn''t even look like he would make a¡ªGahh! What is this? My hand?!" It was no wonder that Drakel began to scream. The hand that he used to grab Adam''s heart was gone, disintegrated.


    But how could that be? It was inside his body, no? Adam should have already died after a hand prated his body.


    This trick worked every time, with Liu, with anyone who threatened stood between him and his passion. Drakel was confused, trying to find a clue of something he missed, and this led to this oue.


    "Your death would be the most extremely painful," Adam said, closing the distance between him and Drakel in a second.


    Drakel took a step back, but his eyes stopped on Zax. This made Adam''s brows twitch, who was calm all of this time.


    "You¡ª"


    "Shut up!" A heavy metallic ball appeared inside Drakel''s mouth, dislocating his jaw and causing his mouth to stay open.


    "Nnmmmn"


    Adam ignored him and nullified his power. Adam wasn''t finished with him yet, and his power appeared to be quite annoying.


    However, disintegrating humans by causing all of the atoms that constituted their bodies to divide was easy with his power. Drake didn''t stand a chance at all. No human could beat Adam, because he was now the more powerful human being that existed in this universe.


    But there was no way for Drakel to know about such a thing, about the nature of the being in front of him. He was just another inferior being who couldn''t understand what being superior was even if exined to them, and even if they witness it.


    "A creature like you shouldn''t exist in any reality," Adam said, not considering the creature in front of him as human.


    "Nnnnn!" Drake screamed in pain. And of course, he would. Every bone of his spine began to spin one by one.


    Pain was not as fun as how Drakel saw it. He began to thrash violently on the ground, but his spine continued to spin, shattering his own organs¡ªA gruesome way to die.


    He continued to scream until hisst, but because of the metal ball in his mouth, no one heard his scream.

 Chapter 193 The Corruption (Part 2)

    Rumble! The entire structure trembled, and the walls began to change positions.


    The Holy Mother knew what was happening, so she wasn''t surprised, and neither was the Emperor.


    The room had turned into an elevator, rising to the top of the tower, causing the entire building to change shape.


    "So, how are you feeling now that you''vee this far?" The Emperor suddenly asked a question.


    The Holy Mother found his question quite unexpected, even suspicious."¡­What do you mean?" It was not the time or the ce to ask such a question, she thought.


    "I was just curious. Do you really not feel any personal satisfaction from this achievement?" The Emperor rified.


    "Pointless question," the Holy Mother answered, ignoring the Emperor''s exasperating attitude.


    Rumble! The ceiling above them opened like a flower blooming, revealing the dark ck orb above.


    After that, the device in which Neige was kept activated. Her hands and legs were attached to something that looked like a cross, and several cables were plugged into her back, causing her skin to bleed profusely.


    Blood came out of her eyes like tears. She was literally crying blood.


    "Are you really sure that this would work?" The Emperor asked another question. He talked in a very yful tone, almost as if he didn''t care about what was happening at all.


    "How can it fail?" The only Mother responded with another question.


    "I don''t know. Maybe that Adam would interfere?" The Emperor spected, looking at the whole Empire from the tallest structure ever built.


    "What are you trying to say?" The Holy Mother didn''t understand the Emperor''s unusual questions and behavior.


    "If it fails, would your God help? You are doing this for his sake right?"


    "I would not fail." The Holy Mother didn''t fall into the Emperor''s trap and didn''t show any reaction.


    "I wish I had a bit of that confidence of yours," The Emperor said. However, from what he could tell, this God couldn''t interfere directly with the material world. He didn''t know the reason, but going their way to ask a woman to create a religious organization and use the body of a young girl as a vessel wasn''t really something a God would do. It sounded more like something a Demon would do.


    "¡­" The Holy Mother didn''t anything and just continued to observe the sky.


    The ck orbs gathered into a single big one, and once that was done, the next process would begin.


    Just a little longer, a little longer and she would learn the truth about the world. She would witness the birth of a God into this world.


    However, the Emperor''s behavior was a bit worrying. She knew that he would be disposed of at the end of the ritual, but it would be a hassle if he interfered now.


    She never let her guard down when she was around this man. He was useful but too unstable and unpredictable.


    "You seem too interested in this boy. Why don''t you take care of him?" The Holy Mother said.


    "Yeah, I was thinking about doing that," the Emperor said, agreeing with the Holy Mother almost immediately.


    The Holy intended to lead the Emperor to reveal his true motives, but instead, he immediately agreed to take care of Adam. This made her feel warier.


    "¡­"


    She watched the Emperor disappearing somewhere in silence.


    *****


    The wind blew against Adam''s face as he rushed toward the direction of the Holy Church.


    He had to stop everything before the situation became more problematic than it already was.


    Shoosh! Something came rushing at Adam at an incredible speed. Adam narrowed his eyes and saw five being wearing dark cloaks.


    "Puppets again?" Adam didn''t stop and continued to advance toward the mysterious figures.


    The five figures stopped in front of him. "So we meet again. Did you kill Drakel? That''s quite unfortunate. He was pretty useful.


    "¡­" Adam didn''t answer, knowing that it was the Emperor, trying to prevent him from reaching the tower. His attempt was useless though. He couldn''t stop Adam with these puppets.


    "I know what you are thinking even if I can''t read your thoughts. You think that it''s useless, right? But I didn''t show all of my cards yet."


    Once Adam heard that the Emperor had still hidden tricks, he began to increase his sense of awareness, just in case he used some kind of sneak attack. However, Adam''s body was coated with Antimatter so it was not like anything would work on him¡­ Well, at least something material.


    However, he just had to disintegrate these puppets and that would be it¡­<sub> </sub>


    "Huh?!" But before he knew it, his arm that was holding Zax''s head was severed again¡­ It could have been his whole body if didn''t avoid the attack. "Zax!"


    What did the Emperor do? It was just a swing of a sword.


    "Hahaha! You didn''t expect that right?"


    The five figures finally revealed themselves. Their body was not made of flesh but of bright silver material. All of them were holding swords that were made of the same material.


    "Are you curious? These are my ultimate trumps cards. The God Killers!"


    Adam used his power to prevent Zax from falling by making a t ck rectangle appear below the container.


    The five silver men surrounded Adam from all directions, but Adam used his power to create a wall of ck me that appeared around him, engulfing all of them.


    He also rushed down and grabbed Zax.


    Swoosh! The silver men were unscathed. And proceeded toe at Adam.


    "Tch!" Adam clicked his tongue at the sight of them, feeling that even the Antimatter couldn''t deal with them. In that case, only the Destruction authority would work against them.


    However, there was a huge time gap of time before in between the activation of the authority.


    Even if only one of the silver men were capable of avoiding his attack, and using thatpse of time to attack, it would be bad.


    But what is this material that could not converge and could not control with Creation authority? No, it wasn''t that he couldn''t. He didn''t fulfill all of the conditions to be able to do so. After all, he didn''t know what kind of matter it was. How it was formed and what were its characteristics?


    Swoosh! This was a pain. Adam avoided all attacks one after one, but the silver men didn''t slow down at all.


    Adam reached his hand, and something formed in front of him. A matter that was heavier than a ck hole¡ªthe Voidium.


    This time, he used Voidium to hold them down, by enveloping them inside, but for some reason, there were still able to move.


    However, the Voidium fell to down bringing the silver men with it.


    Boom! The surface of the ground was easily torn open by the weight of the Voidium and the whole moved due to the impact.


    But soon, more silver men Apple ear. Twenty, then fifty, then hundreds¡­


    "How many years do you think it took for me to build the Empire? Do you think that I wouldn''t think about the appearance of someone like you? I even prepared to fight against the Gods."


    Adam didn''t even know which of the silver men talked, but it looked like they were all controlled by the Emperor.


    It was not that their body was as destructive as the antimatter. It was just very tough. A material that the Antimatter could not dissolve instantly. Something that was built from antimatter. Something simr to the Darkmatter.


    Hundreds of silver men holding silver swords rushed at Adam. All of them seemed to be not restrained by thew of gravity.


    "Ora! What are you doing? Where did all of those big talk go?"


    Adam continued to avoid the attacks but he didn''t look like he was panicking at all.


    Then¡­


    A surge of power!


    Boom!


    Adam used the most destructive power of the light and fire elements. Something closely simr to instantbustion produced by the sun.


    The heat was so intense that almost arge part surface of the p was affected. That would roughly equal to a few hundreds of Earths, considering the size of the.


    Adam had learned about everything rted to nuclear power. Imitating it was something he couldn''t do before, but now that he could converge the particles in his surrounding into atoms and molecules that he could control, he could also create all of the conditions for a supernova to happen. He could even create a ck hole after all.


    Even if the silver men were indestructible, they could melt, and the control that the Emperor had on them could also be forcefully cut.


    "¡­" Adam looked at his surrounding, and only the huge tower was still standing. It looked like it was protected by the ck particle, yet another unidentified matter.


    Still, Adam used more energy than he intended to. Then, not wanting to waste any more time, he headed towards the toward.


    He felt like things wouldn''t be easy after all. The Emperor was a very powerful foe despite being a human, he acknowledged.

 Chapter 194 The Corruption (Part 3)

    Despite the good weather, sunlight was blocked by the gigantic ck orb, which had now be as big as a.


    ''It''s almost finished,'' the Holy Mother thought to herself. Adam had tried to intervene but she would not let him. She wouldn''t let anyone prevent her from receiving a revtion, witnessing the truth¡­


    As she looked at thendscape in front of her, she felt like she had seen something simr to this a very long time ago.


    Fire. Smokes. Ashes. And¡­ Monsters. It was something that had to be done. She didn''t regret what she did. Many people died because of it but she had to get rid of the hero.


    The hero was too na?ve, and he trusted her. She didn''t hesitate to me it all on him, saying that he had be an ally of the monsters.


    Convincing the people who were obsessed with power was easy. She just had to nt doubts in their heart.


    ''What if the hero turns against humanity?''


    After that, she first sabotaged the hero, leading him to fail most of his missions.


    And then, it happened¡­ The capital was invaded by monsters and was devastated. Instead of the hero, she was the one who stopped the carnage. No one knew that she was the one who nned everything.


    They all saw her new power as a gift from God. They said that she was the new hero. A saint.


    No one was there to defend the real Hero. She had already killed all of his allies one by one.


    Now, he was about to be executed.


    He said something, not pleading, but asked about something¡­ The Holy Mother remembered the face the hero made at that time.


    He called her name, Eva.


    But she didn''t regret anything. For the sake of her goal, he was not someone that should exist.


    The hero died, and the Holy Mother, and created the Holy Church.


    It was said that the original light would always shine more brightly than a fake one. As such, the Hero had to be eliminated so that the Holy Church would be the only thing that brought hope to the world, but not too bright like the hero so that the darkness lurking behind it wouldn''t be revealed.


    From that day, the Holy Mother had only one mission. To make sure that Harvest would take ce.


    She had begun to increase her influence, creating churches all around her, then all around the universe.


    During that time, she met someone who was the most ambitious human she had ever met¡­


    He was fearless and so sure of himself, continuing to treat her as if they were equal. But he was useful¡­ His power was one of the key elements she was searching for.


    He then made a strange request. That in exchange for helping her, he would be permitted to meet her God. She agreed.


    She would receive instructions from her God rarely, but apart from that time when he appeared inside her room, she never had the honor to be in their presence again.


    Her God was waiting, she thought. And once the harvest was finished, everything would be revealed to her. She would know the reason why her God had asked her to carry this mission.


    The knowledge she had acquired during all of these years was already a form of rpense, but she yearned for something more¡­ A truth that mortals would never manage to attain. Something that God only knows.


    But¡­


    "Kuh¡­"


    Eva looked down at her chest and saw that a sword had prated her heart.


    "You were so sure that you would seed, but then someone suddenly stabs you in the back. How does it feel?"


    She knew this voice. She remembered. She turned to look at the owner of the voice.


    How did he get behind her? She didn''t let her guard down. And this sword¡­ How can this be?<sub> </sub>


    *****


    The wind blew on the veil that covered Eva''s face as she stumbled on the ground.


    He was there standing in front of him. The same innocent face. The same clothes that made him look like a simple viger. The gentle smile on his face.


    He, the hero. "Stephan."


    "You didn''t expect to see me, did you, Eva? You promised that we would go on a date so here I am," Stephan said. The smile on his face didn''t waver. His voice was soft and gentle.


    Eva red at him, but the sword buried in her back prevented her from moving, or else her blood would start to spurt from the wound.


    "How many years do you think I waited for this day? For this very moment when you would be so close to seeding. When you wait for anticipation for your dream to finallye true,"  Stephan continued, but then the smile on his turned into a very twisted one. "Then everything gets crushed.


    "That day," Stephan proceeded to recount what happened after that execution. "I remember that look on your face. I thought I had finally understood you as a person. But when I looked at that face, I knew that I expected too much from humans. They wanted my death. I used my body to shield them against these monsters. I failed to understand human nature. How respect and love could turn into hate and disgust?"


    Stephan remembered clearly. The voice that made him feel like he was about to vomit. He swore to himself that he would kill every single of them¡­


    "Do you want to know how I survived? I prayed¡­ And whoever they were, they answered my prayer. When I saw that you became the Holy Mother, I found it so funny that I couldn''t help butugh. How ironic¡­ My master may as well be a God like yours."


    *****


    At the moment when Stephan was about to breathe hisst, time stopped. Everything around him became blurry, and only one entity sat on a chair in front of a round table that appeared out of nowhere, drinking tea.


    "Do you like tea?" The being asked, as if the dying man in front of him wanted to talk about tea in that situation.


    "¡­" Stephan was taken by surprise. He felt so much hatred in his heart and it showed on his face. He was not in the mood to talk about tea.


    "If I gave you the chance to live. What would you do?" The being asked another question, not minding Stephan''s attitude.


    "I¡­ I will kill. I will kill them all!" Stephan shouted in rage. However, he was still retrained to the ground, and the huge axe was so close to his neck that if time resumed its flow, his head would fall.


    "I expected more from you. If this is all you are worth, then your life isn''t worth saving," the being added, making Stephan feel more rage.


    "Who are you to judge me!" He shouted, feeling like the whole world was against him, judging him the way they wanted. When they needed him he was a hero. But they quickly changed their mind just because of a rumor¡­ He became the enemy to kill.


    "Would it make you a different person if you could read people''s minds?" The being interjected.


    "What?"


    "You say that you didn''t understand how people could change their minds easily. However, the answer to all of your question are now inside their mind, isn''t it? If you could read their mind from the beginning, wouldn''t you be able to avoid this oue? You would have known that that woman had never seen you as herpanion, let alone a lover."


    What the entity said was the truth. But Stephan didn''t have such an ability. If only he knew what Eva thought of him all of this time. If he knew what these people thought when they looked at him. He would have indeed avoided this oue.


    But, that was all a hypothetical situation.


    "I could give you this power. But in exchange, I want you to do something for this world. I want you to be the most powerful person in this world. And before that happens, you must not kill Eva."


    "What?" Stephan was confused but he didn''t think that the being was joking. The fact that he could appear there was already proof that he was at least more powerful than anyone he had ever met.


    "When the timees, you will understand."


    After that, the being disappeared, and Stephan''s head was cut off.


    However, he opened his eyes again, inside a hospital. But then he looked at his face, he didn''t recognize himself.


    It was the first time his gift was activated. The ability to transfer his memory and also read other people''s minds. He had forcefully overwritten the memory and the personality of a dying person.


    "Hahahaha! Hahaha! This will be fun! I will make sure that you have the most beautiful expression of despair on your face when I kill you, Eva!"

 Chapter 195 The Corruption (Part 4)

    At first, Stephan thought about immediately killing Eva, appearing in front of her and taking her by surprise, then taking revenge on everyone who betrayed him.


    However, he remembered what the mysterious being said. He ordered him to not kill Eva before he had be the most powerful man in the world.


    But Stephan saw no point in doing that. He would be satisfied as long as everyone died, or so he thought but¡­


    "Is that all? With this chance, is that all I could do?" He asked himself, remembering one other fact that the mysterious being said.


    He realized what the being tried to say. He was too closed-minded, and his vision of the world was too narrow. Even if he had the power to read the mind of people, what kind of difference it would make? That was what the being wanted him to understand, or so he interpreted.


    "The most powerful man in the world huh¡­" Now he could see it. The end. The possibility of the perfect revenge.


    If he became the most powerful man in the world, the Holy Mother wouldn''t be able to ignore him, and when she finally let her guard down, he would bring her despair.


    "Hahahaha!" Stephan couldn''t help butugh at how the table had turned. She wouldn''t see anythinging.


    He loved her, he did. And this love turned into intense hatred. The more he thought about it, the more the image of Eva in his mind had be twisted.


    He wanted to tear apart her limbs and crush her head. He wanted to feed her to the monsters and watch her as she scream in agony.


    He wanted to see that form of despair on her face¡­ Hate! Hate! Hate!


    However, Stephan controlled his urge, letting his feeling grow deep inside him, waiting patiently for the day when he would taste the sweet nectar of his vengeance.


    In the beginning, he had only taken control of a vige. Then a kingdom, and finally an entire continent.


    He acquired information, monopolized it by killing everyone knowledgeable, then used it as a weapon, causing nations to fight among themselves.


    First, he brainwashed the weak and the na?ve, then he ckmailed powerful people using their dark secrets. He then created a group that he could use to control everything from the shadow, executing everyone who could be a threat to him.


    No one could escape from him, because they couldn''t even understand that they were all being controlled.


    In the end, he always ended up being the hero, saving the masses from corrupted individuals, and even monsters.


    He learned about the existence of the gift and immediately gathered people who had powerful gifts under him.


    Then he realized that the Holy Mother was also doing something simr to what he was doing with the Holy Church.


    It was an opportunity, so he approached her and proposed a n. He knew everything so it was easy to manipte her into thinking that she had the upper hand over him, that she was useful to him.


    And when he saw her new look, the white robe, and the veil, he had a hard time preventing himself fromughing.


    Then, she heard about the Holy Mother''s n. The Harvest.


    This woman was the one who betrayed him, but now she just looked pathetic. He had to go through all of that pain just for this stupidity. What a joke.


    This world shall know pain, he thought, thinking about the fools who treated him like a criminal.


    This made him more interested in human nature. How to break people? He begins to experiment on people by inflicting physical and psychological damage on them. With this, he could finally use them when they were broken.


    Seeing the Holy Mother made him more ambitious when it came to his n. He wouldn''t stop there.


    That was when brilliant individuals appeared. Genius inventors, physicists, doctors, etc¡­ These were all but entrics but for him, they were the perfect puppets.


    With his power and control over the world, he led humanity to a new era.


    Obviously, he had also found a way to extend his life, using extremely inhuman methods. However, it worked, and no one would know about it¡­


    After that, he began to eliminate those who knew too much, one after another. It was a massacre but the masses didn''t even notice.


    After this, he began to monopolize information once again. He destroyeds that had advanced civilizations and annihted races that were too intelligent. They didn''t see anythinging despite their intelligence.<sub> </sub>


    The Emperor had already found a way to extend the range covered by his power, so everything was easy. All it took was a traitor, and then the feeling of doubt.


    That took thousands of years but the Emperor had be the only superpower in the universe. Monopolizing the information about gifts, new technology, and even about the past¡­


    Now, Stephan, the Emperor had be the most powerful people in the world.


    The Holy Mother worked with him all of that time, not knowing anything. However, her presence was remainder to him so that he wouldn''t forget about his revenge¡­


    Until the day woulde¡­


    *****


    "What is this? I don''t see your God anywhere. What happened? Is he asleep? Or did he go to the bathroom?" Stephan said mockingly as he squatted in front of the dying Eva.


    Her face had be pale, her lips turning blueish because she was losing a lot of blood.


    "You probably die right before the Harvest of yours ends," Stephan continued. "You remember that sword right? It was the first thing you stole from me on that day. I didn''t even see anything¡­ Without that sword, of course, I would be vulnerable. They beat me and stepped on my face because you took that sword."


    "W-what do you want me to say? I¡­.don''t regret a¡­nything" Eva said, looking like she was about to lose consciousness.


    "I know. I know that Eva. That''s why I didn''t kill you all of this time even if I could. I waited for this very moment when your dream is about to be a reality. Then, I will take that dream from you. Well, you don''t regret anything so it''s all good, right?" Continuing in a mocking tone, Stephan stood up and approached Neige, then circled around the device and walked toward Eva from behind.


    "I wonder what would happenter. Would a God be born? I can''t imagine. I look forward to seeing it. Aahh! what a shame. I forgot that you won''t be able to see that. Sorry, I was being inconsiderate."


    Then he pulled her hair from behind and forced her to look at him.


    "This is how I looked that day. I was looking up at you, trying to understand what was happening to me. So this is how you felt. Now that I am in your ce, I felt a great j," he said with a twisted smile.


    "Kuh..kuh¡­" Eva was about to die, but she couldn''t die yet until the harvest waspleted.


    "I know. You wouldn''t be able to attack me because if you do, the process would be interrupted. Such dedication, such faith. Oh Lord above, please bless your most devoted servant." Stephan talked in a theatrical manner and a mocking tone.


    "Tch. She lost consciousness. However, her power is still active. I must say, I find her dedication pretty twisted," Stephan freed Eva''s hair and let her slump on the ground. "I am not done with her yet. Huh?"


    Stephan was about to continue torturing Eva but then he saw a being standing in front of the device.


    "Master?" He muttered in surprise.


    "I was searching for someone who had the potential all of this time," the being said. "I did it by challenging the authority of Autonomousity. However, I always failed. Both of you were one of such failure."


    "What?" Stephan was quite confused by what the entity, the one he referred master, said.


    "Most humans don''t have what it takes to be able to evolve by themselves even if they were given the power to do so. It''s not only about knowledge¡­ There is no God, Stephan. This world doesn''t allow Gods to exist¡­ there are only demons."


    Stephan paled, understanding what these words implied. That would mean that this being¡­


    "You two had the potential, but you couldn''t change the course of things¡­ I saw this, and decided that your existence will be used for something more important."


    "You were behind the appearance of that kid? And you were also the God that Eva¡­ You were the one who pushed her to betray me weren''t you?"


    "What do you think?"


    "You¡­" However, the being disappeared when Stephan was about to rush at them.


    And¡­ "You, I know you. You were that Hero."


    Stephan looked behind him and saw Adam. What was that being tried to do? It was almost as if everything was his doing. Was he ying in his hand all of this time?

 Chapter 196 The Corruption (Part 5)

    "How do you know me?" Stephan asked, looking at Adam who was floating in the air right in front of him.


    "On mying to age ceremony, one of your puppets was there, right? Of course, you will be there. You would never let someone be a threat," Adam said, thinking back about that fateful day.


    At that time, he saw a weird vision. He saw a young man who had be a hero. However, the hero was betrayed by the woman he loved.


    "At that time, I didn''t understand it, so I ended up not thinking about it. But now it all makes sense," Adam dered, "You were already reading my mind at that time, that''s why I could ess your subconscious, your hidden memory,"


    "I see, so that''s what happened. I was wondering why I lost all connection with my puppet on that day," Stephan said, not looking surprised by Adam''s revtion.


    At that time, the memory of everyone who witnessed what happened on that day was erased. That was thest ability that pride used.


    However, it didn''t take Stephan and Eva long to discover Adam''s power. But that entity intervened¡­ That entity used both its curiosity and ego to protect Adam.


    ''Aren''t you curious about what will be of him?'' The entity said. They didn''t even remember when the entity said this, but somehow, they were convinced that it would be interesting to leave Adam alone.


    At that time, Adam was still pathetic and weak. They never expect that he would be a person that could destroy the Empire and stop them¡­ Just a few days ago, he wasn''t even a threat.


    "So that''s how it is¡­ We were just used for your creation. A monster like none other," Stephan continued with a smile on his face.


    "What''s your goal? Why are you doing this?" Adam asked, but then he noticed the face of the woman lying on the ground, the face hidden behind the veil. He noticed Eva''s face. "Is this for revenge?"


    "Unlike you, I never cared about bing a good or whatever. I just wanted to see the despair on this woman''s face." Stephan didn''t seem to be bothered by Adam''s question. He didn''t expect anyone to understand him. "As you can, humans don''t always end up bing good even if they were given great power. I understand why the master called us failures¡­ Me and her¡­"


    "Master? Who is your master? Where is he?" Adam asked, feeling that he was close to uncovering the identity of the mastermind.


    "Hahaha! You haven''t noticed yet?" Stephan said mockingly, causing Adam''s brow to frown.


    After hearing Stephan''s words, Adam looked at the device and saw Neige, and was about to intervene but¡­


    "I would not do that if I were you."


    ¡­Stephan stopped him.


    "The harvest is alreadypleted. Everything was taken as nned. Down to the veryst detail Hahaha! Even this reunion between the three of us was already nned!" Stephan began to shout andugh at his realization. He thought of himself as someone cunning, but even his own evaluation of himself was used to control him.


    Fwooosh! A blind light engulfed the top of the building. Before Adam could even move, the device and Neige who was inside it had already disappeared.


    "What happened?" Adam began analyzing the situation.


    "Who knows," Stephan answered. He sat down next to Eva. She had died.


    Maybe, if that being didn''t manipte her to be the Holy Mother, things might have ended up differently.


    Stephan looked up to the sky. "What is this shitty feeling. Why am I not happy?"


    At the very end, he finally understood what that being wanted to say. If he managed to be the most powerful person in the world, howe he couldn''t even change the mind of a single woman?


    "Did he even say that? No, I guess I just realized why hate and love are the same forms of emotion." Stephan said, talking to himself.


    "What were trying to achieve? Tell me¡­" Adam grabbed Stephan by his cor and lifted him in the air. He couldn''t see anything strange in the surrounding, but he knew that something was happening and he couldn''t see it.


    More importantly, the three fragments disappeared with the device alongside Neige, and this was a problem.<sub> </sub>


    "Don''t ask me. I don''t know, and I don''t care. But you talked about bing a god and all of that crap right? I don''t know what''s your definition of God, but this thing will give birth to a God, or so that woman said," Stephan exined.


    Now that he thought about it, if his master, the God of Eva, wasn''t the one who was to be brought to this world using Neige as a vessel, then who?


    "I will still kill you," Adam said. Stephan was the one who killed everyone important to him. Even though he had already found a way to bring all of them back, he still couldn''t forgive Stephan.


    "What are you waiting for? Look, I created an Empire. I ruled this world for thousands of years. And I got my revenge. Do you think I still have any regret?" Stephan spoke arrogantly.


    "That''s just because you didn''t have anything else to do. If you could do that much, why didn''t you just aim higher? Create a world where Eva and you would be together. Humans are not evil by nature. You just didn''t try hard enough," Adam said, holding Stephan by his cor.


    "Maybe. I just didn''t think that it was possible. And I didn''t have the power to do it. I guess that''s the difference," Stephan muttered. "I don''t want to think about it anymore¡­"


    After that, Stephan lost all strength and his consciousness vanished. At that time, the real Stephen, who was nothing more than a big brain situated at the heart of the Empire, disconnected himself, erasing all of his data and memory.


    Looking at what happened, Adam felt frustrated. Until the very end, Stephan didn''t regret his actions.


    Suddenly, everything was quiet. Almost every human on the had died.


    "What to do now?" He muttered to himself. He expected to fight a very powerful being when the harvest began, but he didn''t expect anything to just end like that. He had to search for tree fragments again. Then¡­


    Adam turned him quickly, sensing a presence behind him, but then he saw something very nostalgic¡­


    A pyramid of ss. Exotic flowers. White table and chairs. Sweets and¡­ A tea set. It was fairly smallpared to the real one, but the thing in front of him looked like the Royal Garden of Kepalta.


    "Adam, join me," A voice came from the one sitting on top of one of the chairs.


    "M-mother?" Adam muttered meekly, almost shocked. He didn''t want to feel such an emotion, knowing that this was not real, but it was still hard to keep hisposure. "Who are you?"


    However, the being in front wasn''t his mother. They were just taking the appearance of his mother, he knew.


    However, his fake mother smiled, and the smile was simr to the one in his memory.


    This should have made Adam extremely angry, but for some reason, he couldn''t feel anything¡­ Instead, he approached the table and sat down on one of the chairs. He didn''t even know what he was doing. What kind of power is this?


    "So we meet again," the being said.


    "No, I never met you," Adam said. "Stop taking the appearance of my mother."


    "You don''t remember? When you were rejected by that girl, Tracey. You looked embarrassed when you remarked that I was sitting there. I said that I will not say anything," said the being.


    "At that time¡­ You were that person wearing a white costume?" Adam said. He thought that the man was doing some kind of cosy at that time, and he forgot about his existence.


    "I don''t have much time left. I will disappear soon," the being dered.


    "And what does have to do with me? You were the one who controlled everything from the shadow all of this time, right?" Adam said.


    "If I had the power to make everything right, I wouldn''t have nned all of this just to reincarnate you in this world. This world doesn''t allow a God to exist. That''s why you have to listen to what I will say. If you want to create that world you have in mind," the being added.


    "So this is the continuation of that story? The one about the God of creation and the God of Void?"


    "Yes, the God of Void will be revived soon, but that will take time, that''s why we can talk. Right now, the authority of Autonomousity is about to activate the new loop. Once it begins, no being that exists can stop it¡­ However, there is an expectation in everything. A unique existence that doesn''t exist anywhere in this world. That''s what you need to be. That"s the first thing you need to do¡­"

 Chapter 197 The Corruption (Part 6)

    "Are you saying that you will tell me how to be this ''unique existence?''" Adam interrupted, he didn''t look like he was ready to listen to what the being who took the appearance of his mother was about to say. "If you knew the way to do it, why didn''t you be one yourself?"


    "It''s understandable that you will doubt my words and be suspicious of my intentions. But rather than answering your question, let''s talk about the Corruption. Adam, what do you know about the Corruption?" The Being didn''t answer Adam''s question and instead changed the subject.


    "Don''t try to avoid the subject. Your way of controlling people''s minds is very dangerous, but I am not stupid. Again, who are you?" Adam said, preparing himself to fight against a very powerful opponent.


    From what he could see, this Being was a higher level being capable of manipting the Nothingness and altering reality. It was not something that anyone could do. However, Adam wasn''t about to let himself get killed by anyone whoever they were. He knew that the answer to everything was Nothingness and Autonomousity.


    These twoplex forces and existence were the key to everything. If he didn''t know about something, it was just that he couldn''t understand how to use these keys to open the door leading to the answer.


    "If I were to answer your question now, it would lead to moreplications. When the timees, you will find the answer by yourself. But as long as you don''t understand how the Corruption is involved in all of this, you will fail. Are you sure that you want to let go of this chance? If you fail, the loop will just begin and continue forever. No one will ever notice anything." The Being exined despite Adam''s reaction.


    "Moreplications? Well, the Corruption is a counterpart of the neutral particle right?" Adam thought that he should continue to evaluate the Being in front of him for the time being. He was trying to buy time and find a way to get out of this situation. He already knew that when things appeared too easy, they always reserve a twist.


    If he discovered the way to be a God this easily, people should have also learned about it, Adam thought. However, the only Being who was powerful enough to be a God was in front of him. So why? Why were they telling him about such a secret when they weren''t even a God? What was their goal?


    "You are right, but that''s just a tiny part. The Corruption you see is a superior form of Autonomousity," the Being began their exnation. "The Autnomousity can only do what it was supposed to do. It maintains the bnce, but also prevents living beings from ever transcending a certain level and bing a God. That''s why the Corruption is superior. It doesn''t need the Autonomousity to exist because it was a power that is at the same level as the Autonomousity."


    "What are you trying to say?" This was the first time Adam heard about this. The Corruption was something extremely dangerous and destructive Adam recalled. It gave a living being greater power in exchange for their existence. It was as if their sense of self was absorbed by the Corruption. That was why all monsters felt like they were all the same. "The Corruption is the origin of all of this mess, isn''t it? Why are trying to sound like it''s the result of a misunderstanding?"


    "The Corruption exists everywhere. The authority of Creation created every particle that exists, but the Corruption can also create particles of corruption. Do you know what that means?" The being asked.


    "How do you know that?" Adam answered the question with a question. "For a while now, it sounds like you are trying to say that the Corruption is the key to bing a God and trying to convince me."


    "Adam, this is for the sake of the multiverse and the countless realities that exist. I can''t do anything because I am restricted. The Autonomousity doesn''t allow a being that is too powerful to exist, but if this being bes the next instigator of the next loop, then the Autonomousity would consider them as not harmful existence since when the next loop begins, they would disappear. Do you understand?" the being in a very strange way as if they were desperate.


    "No," Adam stood up abruptly from his chair. "Who the hell are you?!"


    The Being who had controlled Adam in the dark had never told him directly what to do. There was a reason for this. Adam had to figure out everything by himself. Almost hidden hints were the only things left to guide him.


    Adam didn''t understand anything at the beginning, but then he connected the dot. However, the question was, why did this Being use such extremely roundabout methods, creating all of these almost impossible coincidences?


    Because Adam always believed this Being was all-powerful, it never urred to him that the possibility of them not having any other choice was also a usible answer.


    Nothing could trick the Autonomousity, so everything must follow the natural order of things. As such, if something was just the result of the natural order of things, the Autonomousity would let it happen.


    If Adam bing a superior human was just the result of a coincidence, it wouldn''t be a problem, because Adam would not understand what was happening to him. But once he realized everything...


    "You were trying to trick me, weren''t you?" Adam said. If Adam realized everything while he was still in his human form, the Autonomousity would take this as something that break the natural order of things.


    "What are you talking about, Adam? Do you know why Corruption exists even though the Autonomousity is making sure that everything follows the natural order of things? Anythinges to your mind?"


    It was a smile. A very creepy smile. Adam felt chills just looking at it. He was already powerful enough to destroy multiples by himself, but that smile. It was something he had never seen before.<sub> </sub>


    "Ah!" A hand grabbed Adam''s shoulder. He turned behind him only to see another mysterious being. He had long white translucent long hair and wore a pure white robe. Adam recognized his face. When he was little, he saw this man reading a book in the library. How could he forget about him all of this time?


    "Oh, what do we have here? I was certain that I killed you earlier. I guess you still have some hidden cards. However, you can''t escape me, Morpheus. You can''t choose two sides," the being side, his appearance changing into a young girl with red crimson hair and white translucent hair. It was Neige, at least the being had her appearance.


    ''So that''s why nothing happened earlier,'' Adam thought. It was because these two beings were fighting somewhere.


    However, this also made Adam more confused.


    "You almost rendered millions of years of hard work into nothing just by talking. You are not the God of Void for nothing, even if just a fraction," Morpheus said, not letting go of Adam''s shoulder.


    [Don''t react. I managed to obtain one tree fragment. Use it. Find a way. You already have everything you need from here.]


    "I was a bit interested in the human that you have put your hopes in. Because you are also a part of me, I was surprised to see that you have changed. Is it because of the Autonomousity?"


    Gods weren''t allowed to exist in this world, only demons. But what kind of demons?


    "Are you interested, Adam? How did I survive? It''s simple. The corruption is the only thing that can''t be destroyed by the Destruction authority because it''s a form of Anti-esse scattered all around the universe. Little by little, this world will copse because the corruption will continue to grow."


    [Listen to me. There are lies mixed with the truth in what was said.]


    Morpheus continued to talk to Adam telepathically, but both of them didn''t show a reaction.


    Morpheus knew that the power of the God of Void was still limited.


    [The God of Void is desperate. The loop is about to begin. There was something that you didn''t know. The God of Void didn''t expect that the God of Creation would trick them. The God made them think that this multiverse was the real one and not the prison, and so the God of Void used the Corruption here.]


    Adam finally understood what was going on. This was not the perfect universe that the God of Creation created. It was the backup one that was used to imprison the God of Void.


    This world would never allow a God to exist to prevent the God of Void to regain all of their power.


    They would resurrect but then all of the conditions would lead to their fall. Then they would disappear again until the same thing happen again.


    This didn''t affect the other beings who were not even aware of such a thing. The world was not about to copse. It was only about to be reset.


    Morpheus didn''t have a choice but to make sure that the God of Void was resurrected because he would be erased by the Autonomousity if he didn''t. Anything that would change the fate of the God of Void would be erased. However, he made sure that Adam was caught in all of that by coincidence. He couldn''t interfere directly with the process.


    Now, Adam was a very particr existence that knew about this truth and the Autonomousity would erase him too.


    [I will create a chance. Go to the mirror world. You will be able to find the way.]

 Chapter 198 The Multiverse Of Madness

    Questions, and more questions, even the answers were questions that led to more questions.


    Adam knew that it wouldn''t be easy. Unlike before, he didn''t want his life to be controlled by anyone else.


    As such, he didn''t take the words of the two beings in front of him as something absolute.


    However, Adam knew that he had to act, that he had to do something and fast.


    The God of Void, and the one called Morpheus. He knew that these two beings were powerful, far more powerful than the opponent that he had faced. However, as long as he possessed the two primordial authorities, he would always find a way.


    In that situation, Adam began to think about all of the possibilities, and his brain processed every single piece of information at an insane speed.


    This world didn''t allow a God to exist, Adam thought, but what did that imply? When did a being get ssified as a God?


    From what he could see, the God of Void had not yet recovered their full power. The fact that they didn''t immediately kill him proved this much. But why?


    Adam wasn''t so na?ve as to think that this being just wanted to have a friendly talk with him. As such, there was something this being wanted from him, something that he wasn''t aware of, and shouldn''t be aware of.


    This would mean that he was close to his goal, but also in a very bad position. If he learned about this hidden truth, he would be erased by the world. However, this was a fate that he couldn''t avoid. So what to do?


    Adam knew that if he wanted a chance to ovee this obstacle he had to continue to think. How would the Autonomousity erase a being that was close to bing a God? What was the process? If he couldn''t understand this, he would never be able to make his dream, his ambition a reality.


    "Hey, Adam, move away from him! He is one of the God of Void''s reflection!"


    Suddenly, someone who looked like Morpheus appeared.


    "They are trying to trick you. We need to get out of here!" Then, another appeared. And then another one.


    In the end, the illusion of the Royal disappeared and hundreds of Morpheus appeared, every one of them iming to be the real one.


    Adam was not a fool. He didn''t trust anyone, no matter who they were. Holding the container containing Zax''s head, he continued to connect the dots, and examine the possibilities. There should be an answer, he thought¡­


    The God of Void was trying to prevent him from thinking rationally, and the reason for this was simple, they didn''t have enough power to control Adam by force. With his domain, Adam could erase the God of Void because they were still not at full power, or so Adam thought, but that was too easy, almost as if the God of Void wanted him to do that.


    The God of Void kept showing Adam their weakness, almost as if trying to appear vulnerable. What was the reason? What made him different from the God of Void? What exactly was it that Adam possessed and the God of Void didn''t?


    The answer was obvious. The authority of Creation and Destruction. If Adam used his power, the Destruction authority, the God of Void would end up in a world that the Autonomousity couldn''t reach.


    Now Adam knew what ssified a being as a God.


    There was indeed a lie in what a God of Void said, but everything wasn''t a lie. The ability to bypass the Autonomousity. The sheer willpower of a single being.


    [You should have realized it by now.]


    The God of Void created the Anti-esse out of their sheer willpower. A force that could rival the Autonomousity.


    As such, the Corruption was indeed the only way to ovee the barrier of Autonomousity. However, it was a double-edged sword. Unless Adam could create a force that could rival the Autonomousity and didn''t rely on it to activate his power, he couldn''t be a God.


    A being that had this power, this force was ssified as God and was a threat.


    But from what Adam could see, the God of Void could not control the Nothingness. The corruption corrupted everything, but it was still the creation of the Creation authority, and not something entirely new.


    "What are you doing Adam,e to me!"


    "No,e here!"


    All of the hundreds began to surround Adam as if trying to annoy him so that he would use his power.


    However, the real Morpheus used his power to teleport Stephan''s swords in hand and then used it to generate a vertical sh, unleashing enough power enough to decimate an entire continent.


    Crack! At that time, Adam heard a very familiar sound. Time stopped. Adam coater his body with antimatter, but he was still unable to move.<sub> </sub>


    A gigantic skeleton hand ripped open the sky as if it was made of ss. The hand was so huge that the Empire''s capital appeared extremely small.


    "They are here already," The God of Void shouted annoyingly.


    Their entire body was made of Corruption, in other words, the Anti-esse so they were still able to move, but their power was sealed. In this space, no particles existed. It was a space filled only with Nothingness. Only a true God, and the Autonomousity, as well as the two primordial authorities, could affect what was happening within this dimension.


    [Now you see what happens when a God is born. This world would get reset. In other words, this universe would be erased, making it that nothing happened. The God of Void might continue to get reincarnated but before they be a true God, the universe in which they were reincarnated would get erased. Then another universe will appear, and the cycle would repeat itself, creating a multiverse of creation and destruction. This would continue until all of the corruption would disappear, but the God of Void will¡­.]


    Morpheus'' exnation stopped there. Ten beings that were bigger than the Empire''s entire appeared. They were shrouded in dark shadows but their silhouettes were different.


    They were the Guardians of the multiverse. They kill beings that were about to be a God. They were the nemesis of Gods. They were, in other words, demons.


    Adam knew that there must be a reason why there were ten of them. Each of them must have unique abilities that would be useful in their task.


    Adam didn''t show any reaction to what was happening in front of him. This was something that was not worth being surprised about. No matter what happened, he knew that what he had to don''t change.


    [This sword is your chance. If someone else tried to hold this sword apart from, the hero, they would be erased. There''s a reason for that, now go!]


    Adam used what was left of his power to summon the Destruction Authority. However, something strange happened. Even Adam didn''t expect it.


    Two balls of lights appeared, one of golden color and one silver. Both of them revealed two little creatures inside them.


    The ten beings immediately reacted to this situation, and without even moving, they were now around Adam. They shrank in size but their presence left Adam unable to move or breathe. Adam was at his limit because he was still a human who needed to breathe.


    When Adam summoned the primordial authority these two little creatures appeared. This reminded him of Verte. They were like a chubby baby with long ears. Adam didn''t like how they looked nor did he think that their appearance would change anything much, but¡­


    Adam understood something.


    For one thing, his thinking process was even faster than the movement of the ten beings. So fast was one second was close to ten minutes.


    It was not that the beings were slow, it was just that Adam thought too fast.


    One way to use the two authorities without relying on the Autonomousity was that the authorities would activate by themselves. How? The answer was simple, they must be connected to Adam and use Adam as their source of power.


    As such, in a space where only Nothingness exists, when Adam used to summon his power, only two small chubby-looking babies appeared.


    These two were his own creation, but since he didn''t even know how they were created, they took the form of something that he understood. A human body. Adam learned about anatomy.


    The fact that they were babies that could fit Adam''s palm showed that this was his limit.


    "Gugu?" The silver baby looked at Adam.


    Swoosh! Everything turned dark. Adam didn''t feel anything didn''t see anything.


    How long has it been? Where was he? Adam didn''t know. There was nothing but darkness. What happened?


    Crack! He felt like something was breaking, falling apart and he continued to fall. He tried to grab something but nothing was there.


    Adam continued to fall¡­ So deep¡­


    No matter how much passed, he never hit the ground¡­


    He continued to fall¡­


    He felt that his body was growing weak, growing old¡­


    But there was no end to this darkness¡­

 Chapter 199 The Multiverse Of Madness (Part 2)

    "Ahhhhh!" Adam opened his eyes abruptly and arose from his sleeping position. "Hufuhufu!"


    His breathing was ragged as though he had woken up from a bad dream, but then he saw a hole in the ceiling. Moreover, he didn''t even recognize the room that he was in.


    He felt something wrapped around his hip, but when he looked to see what was next to him¡­.


    "!??" There was a big hole in the bed and only half of the body of the person next to him remained. "Liu?!!"


    Then, before he could even realize what was happening to him, there was a bright light. He felt great heat and extreme pain. He felt his body wash a bang crushed by something hot and¡­ Darkness.


    ¡­


    ....


    "AHH!" Adam opened his eyes. He was holding the wheel of a car.


    "Adam, what''s going on? What''s out!?"


    She looked at the owner of the voice, the person sitting beside him. "Liu?!"


    "Biiiiiiiiiiiip!"


    "Crash!" Something crashed on the door of the car. Maybe it was a truck. Adam took a nce at the face of the person next to him¡­ Darkness.


    ¡­


    ¡­..


    "Ahhhh!" Adam opened his eyes. He felt the air caressing his face, and the scenery in his scene of vision was shifting quickly.


    "Oooooohh!" He could hear people cheering and yelling. He could also hear the sound of metal grinding against each other.


    "This is so fun!" He looked at the person next to him. Again, Liu was there.


    The roller coaster was doing what it was supposed to, going down fast and then rushing up faster¡­ Everyone was excited until the thing rose in the sky¡ªSomething that a roller coaster wasn''t supposed to do.


    "Aaahhhh!" She, Liu, screamed. Adam felt something was wrong. He has to¡­


    "Crash!" He felt his bone breaking. His skull waspletely crushed. He felt the pain¡­ And darkness¡­


    ¡­..


    ...¡­..


    "Aaaaaaaa!!" Adam opened his eyes and screamed.


    The girl in front of him, wearing an exotic-looking outfit, something worn by the concubine of the Emperors during ancient times in China.


    Adam realized that he was holding a teacup in his hand and that he was inside a very unusual room.


    "What is this!?" Adam stood abruptly.


    "Your majesty, are you not feeling well?"


    Some people that he had never seen before came and surrounded him, their eyes full of terror.


    Even the concubine, the one who had Liu''s appearance, was shaking in fear.  She couldn''t even look Adam in the eyes.


    "You¡­Kah!" Adam tried to say something but he has begun to vomit blood. He didn''t know how it happened but he had inhaled poison.


    Adam had a hard time breathing, so he fell on the ground, his body extremely stiff and his eyes rolling up. "Gahgahagah!"


    And the¡­Darkness¡­


    ¡­


    ....


    "Noooooo!" Adam opened his eyes. Breathing heavily! And tried to activate his power. He knew that his power had activated but nothing happened.


    There was a crowd gathered in front of him, looking at him with surprise. He was standing in front of them, wearing a suit and a tie. A lot of microphones were directed at his mouth and there were a lot of cameras.


    "!???" He turned his eyes and saw his photos on posters along with texts like ''The future will be brighter if we work together. Vote for me!''


    "Thud!" Before he could understand anything, he felt something hurting against his skull right between his eyes.


    He saw some men wearing ck costumes and sunsses rushing at him but¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­.


    "Aaaaa!" Adam opened his eyes. His first thought was to summon his authority but¡­


    He was lying down on the floor on his stomach. He had his arm stretched out. He tried to stand up but someone pulled him violently¡­


    "Shut up!"  A man wearing a facemask shouted at Adam. Then, he saw that there were other men packing bills into bags. He was inside a bank, and these were robberies.


    Bang! Adam felt something like a violent shock in his chest, and then he felt intense pain. He red at the man who shot him but¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­..


    "Aaaaaah!" Adam opened his eyes, but then he slipped. "Ah!?"<sub> </sub>


    The skateboard that he was riding made him lose his footing. Moreover, he was holding a selfie perch in his hand.


    Before he knew it, he was falling. What was he doing at the top of such a tall building while ying with a skateboard?


    "Sck!" Before he knew it, his body hit the ground and made a very unusual sound. The pain was so intense...


    ¡­.


    ¡­..


    "Dammmmn it!!" Adam opened his eyes and screamed loudly. His frustration was about to reach its limit. He couldn''t even think about anything at all. He could only feel the pain¡­


    "Hey, you!" Someone yelled but Adam didn''t notice.


    "Ah?" He fell, and when he looked to his left he saw a train.


    "Vrooooooooo!" His brain couldn''t even process what was happening. It was so painful. His body was stuck in between the train and the railway¡­ So much pain¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­..


    "Aaaah!" He opened his eyes again, but before he could do anything, he would always die most painfully.


    Again, and again, and again¡­


    It didn''t stop¡­ It continued¡­ Thousands of times, millions of times, hundreds of millions of times¡­


    Why was his power not activating? Why did he regain his consciousness only to die a couple of minutes after?


    It continued¡­ There was no time to think because when Adam was about to think, he would feel intense pain and lose consciousness. Then, when he opened his eyes, he would see a ce that he had never seen before. And before he could even process what was happening to him¡­ He would feel intense pain.


    It continued¡­ There was no end. There was nothing else but pain and despair¡­ Again, and again, and again¡­ Until¡­


    What was happening? What was¡­ What was he trying to do again?


    His sense of self began to vanish. He had to think, he had to remember, there was something he must not forget, but what?


    Apart from the pain, what was that he wanted? Every time he woke up, he would see the face of the same woman. But who was she?


    ¡­.


    ...


    "Ah!?" Adam opened his eyes. Where was he? What was he doing again?


    "Hey, are you alright?" A man with blond hair asked him. He was wearing a very strange uniform.


    "Who are you?" Adam asked.


    "Hey, hey! Don''t joke with me. So how was the simtion?" The man asked, taking Adam''s words as a joke.


    Adam ced his hand on his forehead in an attempt to remember something, but what?


    "Simtion? What simtion?" Indeed, what was this man talking about? Was everything that happened a simtion? All of that pain? What kind of simtion was that?


    "Oy, oy. This is not funny dude. Hey, Misa, there''s something wrong with your brother?" The man reported, and soon, two people entered the room.


    "What''s going on, Timothy?" A girl asked, her name was Misa and she was¡­


    "Brother?" Adam asked curiously, seeing the woman in front of him. She had long ck hair tied in a ponytail and crimson-red eyes. She looked very familiar¡­


    "Let me check the data recorded by the system. There shouldn''t be any kind of error. We made all of the necessary preparation," Mica said panicking, operating a nearby device.  "Azalea, check on his condition."


    Adam was quite taken aback. Everything around him looked like something straight out of a science fiction movie.


    "Please lie down," the woman, Azalea, instructed gently. Then, she began to manipte a holographic screen that appeared out of thin air in front of the air. There was a device that floated above Adam and began to cover him with a blue virtual cloak which then took the same of his body.


    Azalea then began to examine the virtual body that shrunk in size and became a 3D small Adam.


    "There seems to be nothing wrong with his body¡­ But for some reason his pulse is very quick, almost as if he is in a state of panic and confusion," Azalea reported.


    "What the hell happened? It didn''t look like there was something wrong during the process," Timothy remarked.


    "The data recorded during the simtion shows no irregrity, well¡­ Apart from the fact that he was forcefully disconnected at the end," Misa.


    "Hey, what''s going on here? Where am I?" Ada, asked, looking around the room, trying to find something that could lead to his death.


    From everyone else point of view, it looked like he had lost his mind. The three of them looked at each other silently in shock.


    Swoosh! The automatic door opened, and someone else entered the room. Adam''s eyes widened. She was that woman. The woman he saw every time he opened his eyes, just before he would die again¡­


    "Dear, what''s going on?" The woman said in a very soft gentle voice, approaching Adam who had a look of intense confusion on his face.


    "You, who are you?" Adam asked, his voice shaking.


    "I am your wife. My name is Liu. Do you remember? It was just announced that I was pregnant. Our baby would be called Cristal," Liu looked at Adam with gentle eyes and a smile, trying to help him regain his memory.


    "My wife?"


    However, he never had such a memory in the first ce¡­ At that point, he didn''t even know who he was.


    As long as he didn''t remember, the world wouldn''t erase him, but that would mean that¡­

 Chapter 200 The Multiverse Of Madness (Part 3)

    "My wife?" There was something not right about all of this, Adam had the feeling, but he couldn''t tell what exactly was wrong.


    Everything appeared to be real, the sensation when he touch something, the smells of the aroma spreading inside the room, the voice of the person talking to him.


    Adam reached his hand and touched Liu''s face. She didn''t say anything and smiled at him.


    "¡­I" Adam began to shake, there was something deep within that fought hard to deny everything he saw. Something trying to say, ''this is not real!''


    However, apart from him, nothing looked out of ce. Why is that?


    He had no memory of this ce, and even though the person standing in front of him were all vaguely familiar, he couldn''t remember them clearly. All he remembered was Liu''s face and an intense pain¡­


    However, Adam knew that he would find the answers to his questions as long as he didn''t give in to despair. For now, he needed to find a way to regain his memory. Something was preventing him from remembering everything that had happened, and that was why he felt that something was not right. It was as if he wouldn''t belong there, to this world, if he recovered those memories¡­


    "Sorry, it seems like I lost my memories. I am sure I will recover them though," Adam said, smiling at Liu who looked surprised by his words.


    "You don''t remember anything? About our marriage? About¡­"


    "Calm down, sister," Misa interrupted Liu who was getting very emotional. "You shouldn''t force the process. This might be a temporary memory loss, so we need to be patient. He needs you now to be there for him more than ever."


    "I understand. I am sorry. It''s just that it was so sudden," Liu said, regaining herposure.


    "But what are we going to do now?" Timothy asked. Adam didn''t understand what he tried to imply.


    "Yes, this might be a problem. Professor Adam is a key element of the simtion. There will be a lot of repercussions if we suspend the project now," Azalea exined. From what she said, Adam understood that he was a pretty important person in this world. "We need to be able to perform all of the simtions before we reach the Beta Earth."


    "Beta Earth? Where are we?" From what Azalea said, Adam had a hunch of what was going on. He still had most of his memories, apart from the things that he didn''t remember.


    "You really don''t remember?" Liu asked again as if still hoping that Adam would regain his memory. "We are in the year 2108. We are on a spaceship heading toward the Beta Earth as the first colony to popte the. You are the one who discovered the way to create simtions that could let humans achieve all of this. You are humanity''s greatest hero, my hero."


    Adam immediately started to analyze the information that he had just acquired. From there look of it, they were in space, traveling inside a spaceship, and he was the one who created all of this technology. So in the world, he was a kind of genius¡­ Some characters like Tony Stark.


    Tony Stark? Iron Man? Somehow he knew about this character, and he knew that he liked to watch movies. But what happened after that? He tried to recall what happened before he woke up on this bed.


    He had a dream, and it was so realistic¡­ But was that really a dream?


    "Have you seen the movie Iron man?" Adam asked, causing everyone else inside the room to look confused.


    "No¡­" Liu answered meekly, trying to recall a movie that had that title.


    "Iron man? I remember that ssic. It has been a while since I heard about that title," Timothy said, showing that he had the hobby of watching old movies.


    With the technology of virtual reality that had progressed to the next level, people could be the main character of their fantasy, in a world that they created themselves, so movies were a thing of the past.


    As expected, Adam realized that the timeline didn''t match his memory.


    "Did you recall something?" Liu asked excitedly, looking at her husband with her beautiful eyes. She was lovely, Adam thought.


    "Yeah, just bits of memory. I am sure I will be able to recover my memory soon," Adam said and tried to stand up from the bed.


    Then, he realized that he had more muscle and he was taller than he had expected.


    "Where can I find a mirror?" Adam asked.


    "You don''t even remember your face?" Azalea asked. She looked like she respected Adam and was probably one of his apprentices.<sub> </sub>


    "I will when I see myself," Adam said, and then a mirror appeared in front of him, or more importantly a projection of himself. It was done by a much-advanced technology, but Adam kept hisposure.


    He was taller, and his hair was shorter andbed nicely. Apart from this, his face was also more defined and mature with a nicely trimmed beard. His appearance was pretty cool, Adam thought. He had this air of a genius and capable leader.


    Everyone looked curiously at Adam who posed in front of the mirror.


    "Can I see every data rted to the simtion? This will help me," Adam said, turning to Misa. His voice carried an unwavering confidence and even Misa was surprised. Was he really his brother?


    Her brother was smart and reliable, but the man standing in front of him was different. But she couldn''t tell what exactly was the difference.


    "Okay, it''s all stored inside the terminal anyway," Misa said, implying that anyone could ess the data.


    Adam followed Misa to the terminal, and everyone else followed him.


    "Hmmm." Adam didn''t have any difficulty operating the device after he saw Misa doing it. "I see so that''s how it is."


    "You remembered?!" Liu said joyfully.


    "No, I just understood how the simtion work and everything rted to the migration," Adam said, and then smiled at Liu who looked disappointed. "This is an opportunity for me to get to know everything about you again. It''s like a second chance. I am pretty excited."


    "Wha?!!" Liu was taken aback by what Adam said. Her face turned bright red, and her hands were wandering in every direction.


    "Haha. Look at her. You are pretty good at this dude. Are you sure you are not pretending?" The mood had shifted and everyone appeared to be rxed. At the very least, Adam didn''t look like he was in bad condition.


    "Stop being lovey-dovey here and go back to your room," Misa said, but she looked somehow more relieved than when she heard about what was happening.


    Liu used her hair to hide her face. It looked like she didn''t expect Adam today such a thing in this situation.


    "Don''t worry. I think I will be able to continue the simtion just fine. I just need to take a look around the ship for now. Help me, Liu," Adam said, looking at Liu who was still bright red. She was very adorable, he thought.


    "O-okay," Liu said meekly, closing the distance between her and Adam, almost as if she was whispering to Adam and only him.


    "Look at the going at it. It looks like we were worried for nothing," Timothy said, shaking his head lightly and looking at the two of them leaving the room.


    Swoosh! The door closed behind Adam and Liu''s back as they made their way into a corridor.


    Everything about the ce reminded Adam of those spaceships in those sci-fi movies; no, it was even better.


    He was holding Liu''s hand as they walked. He took a nce at her face and saw that she was also looking at him. They smiled at each other.


    "Tell me about us. How did we meet?" Adam asked, smiling at Liu.


    "Well, we were always together since we were little. You were always there for me, but you were also dense and stupid. People called you a genius but you were always looking at those screens, those numbers, not noticing that I am always beside you," Liu pouted, pursing her lips, almost as if she wasining. But there was that hint of happiness in her voice as if she was talking about a cherished memory.


    "I am sorry, hahaha. It must have been hard to put up with me," Adam said.


    "It really was! Hmph!" Then Liu looked at Adam with eyes full of affection and love. "Well, until you said that you will never be able to do anything if I am not next to you. That made me happy. That was the happiest day of my life. I thought, ''so he was looking at me after all. He-he-he. You made such a face when you said these words."


    "D-did I? Man, that must be embarrassing, but I am d I did it," Adam said, hugging Liu in his arms.


    Both of them didn''t say anything. They felt that they were connected and will be always together¡­


    [¡­]

 Chapter 201 Unending Dream

    [Adam''s POV]


    I had a dream. I was walking on a street crowded with people. Somehow this scenery looked familiar.


    "Where is this?" I couldn''t help but this like it was a normal dream.


    "Adam!"


    Someone called me, and when I looked back, I saw Liu. She was my wife. I still couldn''t believe it, but I promised myself that I would treasure her.


    "Liu¡­ I am here¡­ What? Who is that guy?" Liu rushed at a guy that looked like me.


    "No! Liu, that''s an imposter!" I yelled, I ran towards Liu.


    However, when she saw me, she had a look of terror on her face and the guy stood in front of her.


    "What do you want with my wife?" He said. His wife? What the hell was this imposter talking about? As if I would give Liu to you¡­


    "Eh?" But then I saw my face reflected in the puddle of water below me. It was the ugly me from the past.


    "Liu, listen to me. This is the real me. I am Adam," I told her, not panicking. I already knew that Liu wasn''t the kind of person who would judge me by my appearance, but still, I was also aware of how ugly I was in the past.


    "Adam, I love you," Liu said, suddenly, and the imposter disappeared all of sudden. "As a friend."


    "No, Liu wait¡ª"


    "VROOOM!"


    *****


    "LIUUU!!!"


    "Adam?! Calm down. I am here. I am here."


    When I woke up, I was hugged by Liu. I could feel her smooth skin on my face. She held me against her soft breasts and kissed my forehead.


    "Sorry. I had a bad dream," I said, wrapping my arms around her hips and kissing her.


    "Maybe you should take a break from the simtion," Liu said in a concerned tone, lying on my chest.


    "Don''t worry, it''s just for a few days. After that, we can take a break together," I said.


    There were still a lot of questions that I couldn''t answer but for now, spending as much time as I could with Liu was my priority. It wasn''t like I was scared of recovering my memory. Somehow, I felt that something bad would happen if I recovered them.


    Nheless, sooner orter, I will recover my memory. As such, I needed to enjoy this opportunity so I won''t have any regrets.


    "Adam¡­"


    "Mmm?"


    "I think I should tell you this¡­ I was waiting for the right time but¡­" Liu was a bit nervous, and she trailed off. "Well, I-I am pregnant¡­"


    "I see," or so I said, but I couldn''t feel my face, so my reaction must have been a stupid one.


    I wasn''t really sure about how to react to this situation. There were a lot of conflicting emotions whirling inside my chest. Happiness. Fear.


    "What''s with that reaction? You don''t sound happy at all," Liu said, puffing her cheeks.<novelnext></novelnext>


    I understood what she was trying to say, but until now I have never had this kind of rtionship with someone. I might have been an adult but I have never gotten the chance to experience this kind of thing.


    "I am happy of course. I am so happy that my brain stopped working for a second," I said in a daze, remembering my mother. What would have she said if she was here? My mother? How did my mother look like again?


    "You can just say something like, ''Is it a boy or girl?''" Liu said in a moody tone, pinching my nipple.


    "Ouch! Okay, okay! So, is it a boy or a girl?"


    "I am not telling you anymore. It''s a secret." Liu was teasing me for some reason. She was cute but I wanted to know if my child was a boy or a girl.


    Still, to think I didn''t remember conceiving this child. Well, I spent the night with Liu and I did what I had to do as a man.


    However, this still felt weird. I was the father and yet I wasn''t there, my consciousness wasn''t there, and I didn''t have the memory of it when this child was conceived. Yet¡­


    "If it''s a girl, let''s call her nca," I said. I found this name beautiful for some reason.


    "nca? That''s a pretty good name. And if it''s a boy?"


    "Well, if it''s a boy then¡­ Mmmm¡­ Bertolt? Bertorito? Berlotolo? I can''t think of anything," I said, wondering why I thought about these names.


    "What''s up with that?" Liu said, biting my chest.


    For some reason, she was really different. No, she was always like this, but she only showed this part of her to someone that she loved and she trust. She was kind of silly.


    "Okay, how about Lucian?" I said.


    "Lucian? Mmmm¡­ It''s better than Ber-Bertlot? Hahaha." Liuughed a little as she tried to pronounce that weird name.


    There was this warm feeling inside my chest as I looked at the woman next to me. Was this a real reality? Wouldn''t it be alright if I just forget everything else and devote my life to making her happy and keeping her safe? Why did I have that lingering fear, that doubt somewhere in corner of my heart?


    "Adam?" Seeing that I had gone quiet, Liu moved on top of me and looked down at my face.


    "What is it? Are telling me that you are ready to go?" I said teasing her, grabbing her by her hip.


    "Annh~ Y-you!" After letting out a cute erotic voice, Liu tried to regain her dominant position.


    "You are so adorable, you know that."


    "Stop teasing me."


    I needed to protect her. I had to protect her. Even if it was thest thing I needed to do.


    *********


    [Author''s Note: Announcement]


    Hello, Kepalozoid here. Thanks for reading.


    I have to tell you that the future of "The viins shall be mine" will depend on the sess of my new book: "Beyond the Abyss: Monarch of Chaos."


    So, I will appreciate your support. Please check out the new book, the link is on my profile on Webnovel. (Kepalozoid>Original works>Beyond the Abyss: Monarch of chaos.)


    About the new book. It''s rted to the universe of TVSBM, and I took everything great about the first book and upgraded them. As such, the new book will have a better Main character than the early Adam, as well as a fresh and very interesting plot.


    Thanks for your support.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!